A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night
by Withinaniceheart
Summary: Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. [Angel/Devil Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.]
1. Wrong Side of Heaven

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

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 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

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 **A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night**

Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.

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 **Additional Warnings for this story:**

No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.

Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.

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 _x_

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 _And then there were legends. Of a God not present. Of God's most beloved Archangel that fell in love with the first Witch and died by the hand of her third born son. Of the Son that got exiled to Hell by his own brother that reigned in Heaven. And the curse of Hell became a crown and a throne and the Kingdom of the exiled One rose. And the only thing the King of Hell missed was a Queen._

 _Until now._

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 **Chapter I : Wrong Side of Heaven**

x

"I sung of Chaos and Eternal Night,  
Taught by the heav'nly Muse to venture down  
The dark descent, and up to reascend..."

― John Milton, Paradise Lost

* * *

The day she gained the gifted of prophecy was the day when everything started. Most of her brothers and sisters turned their back on her. They viewed her gift as an anomaly and her a fool for considering it a blessing. They isolated her. If Caroline didn't know any better she would consider their stance as an act of envy one that would hurt her pride if she had one. But Sins did not belong to Heaven. To a Heaven that was unable to contain her anymore. Everything she did afterwards let to her fall even though she had been warned over and over again by her mentor to reign over her new given _gift_ and to follow the commands of Heaven.

She did not; how could she?

She kept misusing her gift. Every mistake she made was bringing her closer and closer to her destiny. Step by step until she was cast away from Heaven with her grace broken and her wings cut.

 _ **Six months before**_

 _She stood behind the glass window watching the surgeons as they tried to save the life of the man on the surgical table. The monitor was showing a flat line._

 _Angels were not meant to intervene and save lives unless it was the will of the Devine but Caroline has seen in her dreams how one life could change others. She had seen the potential this man held and she knew that her touch of light and a second chance of life could help him inspire others._

 _It was the right thing to do. Even if it was against the rules._

 _She touched the glass and she let her powers bloom. She smiled as she saw the man's soul lift from his body. The shade of his existence was engulfed in her light and in her whisper. She spoke to him the word of God and then healed his body. His soul found refuge again inside flesh and bone and even though the surgeon had called the time of the death for more than fifteen minutes the man's heart started beating again._

 _Caroline smiled and let her hand fall from the window. She breathed in the death and exhaled it as life._

" _You should not abuse your power this way Caroline."_

 _Caroline turned around only to see Elijah stand behind her with hard eyes full of disappointment. Her teacher was reprimanding her as the sting of his accusation washed over her making her lower her head down in shame. She opened her mouth to speak but Elijah gave her a strict glare before he disappeared in light._

 _Caroline tried to reach out to him but he was gone. She turned around and saw how the doctors talked with expression of awe about the miracle they had witnessed._

 _She saw the man on the table. He was alive. He had a chance to help others and redeem himself. Especially now that he had felt the light of Angels. If she was not meant to help him then why had she seen all of his potential in her dreams? How could she avert her eyes from this?_

" _What good is having any kind of power if we can't help those in need?" Caroline whispered feeling angry and frustrated._

Through the shadows and the mist she felt the air hugging her wings as she descended to the mortal world. Her wings were getting violently cut and pulled up to Heaven as she kept falling like a comet towards earth; she was all flame and anguish as the air ripped the divine essence from her body. She screamed and writhed as the Divine's grace was lifted from her body and thrown to the black grounds of a world unknown. And all she felt was pain.

Endless pain as her broken body would not mend. Pain as the wounds would not heal. She was bleeding her soul out of her body as she kept falling faster and faster. The air vibrated around her and the earth shook as she fell on its embrace.

She did not know where she was. She was not falling anymore.

She hardly even remembered where she has been before. Her memories of Heaven were becoming a confusing puzzle in her mind. An enigma as the gates of Heaven where now shut for her and with them so was the knowledge of the world that hung along with the stars and the sun above this earth.

She fainted in the dirt with a prayer stuck between her teeth unable to escape her lips. She was so lost.

Fever took over. Timeless heat covered the newfound mortality of her flesh.

* * *

Caroline wanted to scream but she had no voice. Incoherent vowels were leaving her lips. She was like a wounded animal. Mute and maimed and cast away. The sky was so far out of reach. The stars had felt like blades cutting through her as she fell.

She was now spitting blood and she tried to move but she only managed to stumble back on the mud. Rain was falling on her skin making her howl in pain. The fall had taken away her immortality and invulnerability leaving her into this frail body that was torn and battered as it fell like a shooting star to the grounds of the mortal realm. She was nothing but a shade of who she once was.

She had nothing to hold on. She was reborn in human bounds and part of her very soul was ripped off. She was lost and unable to salvage anything she held dear.

Now all she could smell was blood.

All of her senses were overwhelmed and they translated every sensation into pure undiluted anguish. Everything she touched felt like fire and acid. Her skin was so raw that felt as if the faintest breeze of air was tearing it further apart. She felt ice cold and so hot at the same time. She could not see and tears mixed with blood were falling from her eyes. She heard nothing but deafening noise that was making her ears bleed.

Blood. Blood was flowing in rivers out of her body. She had never bled before.

She crawled on the ground. Her nails scratching the wet mud as she moaned and whimpered. She fell down and tried to move again but fell down once more. Her body now covered in sweat, rain, blood and mud. Every inch of hers was bruised and wounded.

She lied down on her back and let out a cry of pure agony. Her wings were cut and in their place her open wounds had left gaps of mangled bleeding flesh. The moment those wounds touched the ground electricity ran through her whole body leaving her breathless. She turned to her side and brought her knees up until they touched her chin. She hugged her knees and cried as she remained in fetal position. She could feel her wet hair stuck on her face. She wanted to pray for deliverance. But she could not speak. The angelic voice was gone and her vocal chords were still unable to adjust and produce any human sound.

Everything felt like death. A feeling so alien and foreign to her that made her throw up and heave in terror and misery.

She felt the world going black and time lost its meaning. She tried to open her eyes again when she felt hands on her body. Hands that were touching her.

Everything was turning. She could not focus.

She tried to move but she could not. She tried to open her eyes but she still could not. She didn't know what was happening. Her heart started beating faster and faster. The excruciating noise that was making her eardrums burst somehow eased up and through the buzzing she heard voices. She could not concentrate on them at first but she tried despite the pain.

" _Pick her up already."_

Caroline tried to open her eyes and once she managed to do that all she could see was dark figures. The voice she had heard had been feminine but cold.

She felt herself being propelled up and being lifted from the ground. The world was violently spinning.

" _He won't be pleased."_ Caroline heard a shrill masculine voice and tried to keep her eyes open. Flashes of long blonde hair appeared through her eyes.

" _Stop talking and move her,"_ the unknown woman barked and Caroline sighed in pain before she fainted once more.

* * *

When Caroline woke up again days had passed. The sunlight was streaming through the half open window door panels. The linen curtains were flowing inside the room as a cool breeze was blowing.

Caroline moaned in pain and tried to sit up on the bed. She remembered days and nights of pain and a woman taking care of her. She was trying to feed her some herb tea and to cool down her fever. She remembered how the blonde young woman had cleaned her body with a wet cloth and how she had taken care of her wounds. Every memory was a blur but she clearly remembered how this woman had helped her into the clean white nightgown she was now wearing and how she had tried to nurse her back to health.

Caroline struggled to sit up and when she managed it she felt the pangs of a headache attacking her mercilessly. She rested her back on the wooden frame of the bed's headboard.

She looked around. The room was small and made of wood. Everything in here was clean, impersonal and simple.

Caroline looked at the window and saw the forest looming outside.

Where was she?

She closed her eyes and tried to take deep breaths in order to make the headache go away. Her whole body ached.

The door creaked open and Caroline raised her eyes to see the blonde woman that had been taking care of her for so many days enter the room holding a tray.

"Finally you are awake," she said and went and left the tray on the nightstand next to the bed.

She then touched Caroline's forehead with her hand and Caroline blinked confused.

"Your fever broke," the girl said pleased and tried to adjust the pillows behind Caroline's back.

Caroline flinched in pain as her back was still sore and in pain. Her eyes filled with tears as the sting was reminding her of what she had missed. Her wings were gone.

She looked at the girl in front of her with curious eyes. She opened her mouth to say something and coughed.

"Here this will help," the blonde said and gave her a cup of hot steaming tea.

Caroline took it and brought the rim of the cup carefully on her lips and drank a small sip. The tea soothed her throat and a warm tingling sensation spread all over her body from head to toe making her muscles ease up.

She felt her body going slack but the tea was making her feel good and she tried to speak once more.

"Th-a-ank you," she croaked and felt as her voice was slowly restored. The girl nodded and took a chair and sat next to the bed.

Caroline took more sips from the tea and immediately felt better. The herbs were relaxing her and the warm liquid was making her feel less stressed. She drank more from the tea and she recalled that she remembered the taste. She was been given these herbs whenever she was finding consciousness in between her slumber ever since she was brought here.

"Who are you?" she asked the woman that was staring at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

"My name is Claire," she introduced herself and took the tea from Caroline's hands.

"Why are you helping me?" Caroline asked her and Claire smiled at her. That smile somehow made Caroline feel uneasy but she found herself smiling back.

"I am a witch. My coven saw stars falling and read the omens. We felt your fall. You are an angel right?" Claire asked and Caroline gulped.

"You know of angels?" Caroline mumbled feeling the need to run away and yet she leaned back on the pillows. She was safe here.

"Of course. Witches descend from the bloodline of angels after all," Claire shrugged and Caroline narrowed her eyes. Some of them did yes. Others were descending from the blood of demons. However Claire had to be descending from the angel's blood. Surely this was true.

"To tell you the truth I was skeptical of you being one. I have heard of fallen angels before… but seeing one fall? And then seeing you in a mortal body? Let us say that legends are different from reality," Claire stated and Caroline cast her eyes down to her hands. She saw scratches and bruises on her knuckles. No more shine.

"The place you fell was like ground zero. There was an earthquake some hours before and the earth at the place we found you was cracked. I got to you but I was unable to find save your grace," Claire told Caroline that looked at her with wide eyes full of pain.

 _Her grace._

She had lost her grace. Upon her descent her grace was ripped away from her body and fell separately from her.

"How-"

"Demons," Claire interrupted and Caroline looked at her horrified.

"They roam the earth. They are our mortal enemies. My coven has been vanquishing them for decades now. They smelled your blood. I felt your grace and used my magic to follow it and then I tracked you down. Your grace however was gone when I got to the sight," Claire sighed and Caroline shook her head. She felt as if she could not breathe. This could not be happening.

She tried to find words.

"How? I mean-" she stuttered in panic.

"The demons," Claire told her, "by the time I got there they had fed on it. I am afraid there was nothing left," she said and Caroline burst into tears. She hid her face into her hands and felt her whole body trembling and shaking. _No. God no!_

Claire's voice felt as if it was now coming from far away.

"They were also coming for you. I just got to you first," the witch informed Caroline that looked at her with red eyes full of tears. She wanted to thank the witch but she felt as if she was damned. Maybe it would have been better if the witch had left her to die.

She then narrowed her eyes and wiped her tears from her face with the back of her hand. She did not miss the calculation from the witch's eyes.

"You took care of me," Caroline realized and Claire nodded.

"You are safe here," Claire promised and Caroline believed her even though she did not understand why she was here in the first place.

"Why? What is it that you want?" Caroline directly asked and Claire smirked.

Caroline held her breath. She was unable to see past the mortal flesh anymore. She could not read the colors of a soul. She would not tell if Claire's soul was black or not but her instincts were telling her to be careful and yet her mind was telling her otherwise.

"I only care for my coven," Claire admitted and then continued as her eyes roamed over Caroline's weak body, "You would have been no good to us dead," she said with an unemotional tone, "your grace has left its imprint on you. Its last remnants make your aura vibrate differently from the aura of a witch or of a human," Claire said with a glimmer of interest in her eyes that made Caroline's stomach turn.

"Your aura has healing power angel," Claire concluded with a hard voice.

"Caroline. My name is Caroline," Caroline whispered.

"Well _Caroline_. In exchange for my help I want you to allow me to use the last angelic aura you have before it fades away," Claire simply said and Caroline bit her lip.

"You want my aura for its healing powers why?" Caroline cautiously questioned.

"Because of your war," came the blatant accusation, "The war between angels and demons takes place here. You've made us your battlefield not caring about how we become your collateral damage," Claire bitterly bit out, "Witches get hurt. More often than not in confrontations with demons. The remnants of your aura could help me create some protections charms," she answered with an icy cold tone that made Caroline shiver, feeling a tingle of guilt. The war of Angels and Demons always hurt humans the most.

"In exchange I will give you a roof, clothes and food until your aura fades. Some money too for your first days away from here. After that you will be on your own," Claire proposed and Caroline took in a deep breath.

She stared at the witch that sat next to her. She was direct and harsh but at least she was honest and had helped her. What other option she had? She had to buy some time and heal before trying to survive on her own in the mortal world. Otherwise she was not going to make it. And maybe Claire could help her adjust in the between. And using her aura for saving witches could probably be her last chance to do some good.

"You can have it," Caroline accepted feeling her heart ready to break.

Claire titled her head down in assent and smiled at Caroline. Then she took the cup of tea and gave it back to her.

"Drink. You will need your strength," she told her before leaving her alone in the room.

Caroline drank more of her tea and closed her eyes feeling tired and dizzy. Claire would help her. She was sure she would. All she had to do was trust her.

* * *

Days passed by slowly. Claire was nursing Caroline back to health. Her herbs were doing wonders.

At first Caroline's depression over everything she lost had trapped her into a web of self-pity and sadness. Every night at the midnight hour Claire was absorbing with her spells the last remnants of her grace. Caroline could feel her last connection with Heaven dimming with every chant Claire's lips would sing.

A part of her was feeling guilty for exchanging her last essence of divinity for safety and a roof over her head but she harbored no delusions. It was not as if she would be able to hold on to her aura's sacred light anyhow. Either Claire would use it for her protection spells or not in the end it would fade away. At least that way some good could still be done with it or so she hoped. There was something unsettling when it came to the blonde witch but Caroline was out of options. She had to survive. And Heaven was not going to help her anymore. Her prayers were going unanswered. Heaven had abandoned her in a hostile world and she had to trade parts of herself in order to survive in this so scary world. Besides Claire had only helped her so far.

Eventually as she recuperated Caroline started taking walks outside Claire's house.

The world of the mortals seemed so different now that she was part of it. Observing it from a distance was not the same as breathing it in and feeling it on her fingers. Everything was different. Every sensation was different. At first she could feel only pain. As her wounds closed and as her bruises fainted she only had the scars of the healed injuries to remind her the physical pain. The emotional still raged on inside her but with new eyes she took in the world.

Claire's house was a wooden structure in the middle of the woods. Not close to civilization. The witch wanted to be close to nature and she also wanted to keep Caroline far away from the danger of lurking demons until her angelic aura would fade. Something for which Caroline was grateful since she was now helpless and defenseless against Hell's creatures.

Claire had said that the house belonged to her coven. It was a hunter's lodge. All made of wood. Simple and comfortable and far away from curious eyes. Claire was using the back room for her spells and Caroline had the privacy of her small room. When she felt her strength returning she started taking walks. Claire had warned her not to wander far into the woods because there was danger of getting lost or of animals attacking her. Even worse there was still danger of demons finding her.

The idea of having to face demons was enough to make Caroline's body shake with tremors of terror. However everything around her vibrated with new colors she had never seen before. She could no longer see every molecule and see every shape in more dimensions than just three. She could not see in her vision light and darkness in bright and saturated shines. But there was something so raw and beautiful in the world as seen and felt by the mortals that Caroline could simply not resist this kind of beauty. So she started exploring everything. A shy and awkward experience at first but the more she was out in the open the more she relished in the feeling of freedom.

She had started taking walks near the stream that was close to Claire's house. She even dived into the waters one day and somehow she felt as if she was being watched even though she could swear that no one was there.

The witch didn't like Caroline's exits and continued to vehemently claim that many demons still lurked outside but since Claire had already cast a cloaking spell on her and since she was losing her mind closed in that little room Caroline eventually decided to simply go out against the witch's warnings.

The first time she got out and walked further into the woods she smiled for the first time after her fall from Heaven. The sun was warm on her face and the soft breeze felt like a caress against her skin. The flowers were so beautiful and the prickling sensation of the grass under her feet made her laugh and twirl around like a little kid. She ran and jumped and walked and explored.

Being an Angel had made it impossible for her to appreciate the beauty of the earth. Her duty was above all and in the fleeting moments where she could walk amongst the mortals she was always getting overwhelmed. She could feel every molecule and particle. She could hear not only the sounds but also the thoughts of the mortals. She could smell every nature's odor but the scents were always mixed with the sulfur and the silver the auras of the angels and the demons were leaving behind. Her kind and the Devil's kind always walked among the living for eons.

Caroline had never met a demon face to face in all the centuries of her existence but she had heard of them and she had felt their aura. Blackness and death. So much darkness. Everything that was good and light was always sucked and was left in tatters once a demon manifested on earth's realm. Part of her had been curious about them. About how it would be to face one of those creatures. But now she knew that she would not survive such an encounter.

Before she at least believed that even if she succumbed to her curiosity she would be able to fly away to the Heavens and even blind a demon with her light. Of course even that would be unacceptable since the highest ranks of Heaven had forbidden all the Angels to even attempt to encounter that heinous kind even from afar. Once they would feel even the slight shift in the wind every angel had to flee back to Heaven. Only the warriors that worked for the Archangel had faced the Satan's prodigies.

Caroline knew that her curiosity had been an unseemly trait of hers. One that was unbecoming of an Angel but she always had it much to Elijah's dismay. However now that curiosity and her natural inability to abide by the rules had vanished as her survival instincts started kicking in. She was not an Angel of the Lord anymore. She could not protect herself or save anyone else for that matter. Meeting a demon now in her current state would only mean one thing. Torment. And Death. Those wretched creatures would take one sniff of her fading grace and would tear her apart or do even worse things to her.

Caroline shuddered even in the thought of such depravity. Her innocence, her life, her whole existence would be shred to pieces. And she had already sacrificed and endured so much. Now she wanted to live. She wanted to survive.

And survival on earth was not easy. Everything ached. Everything hurt. It had taken her days to adjust to her new weak body. Her bones fragile. Her skin so delicate and feeble. The world had changed its colors for her.

And yet she was drawn to this world. She smiled when she saw a butterfly flying just above her head. Her wings reminded her of her own somehow but the sadness didn't take over this time. She was starting to come to terms with her new reality.

She grabbed the cross she was wearing. Her only connection with…home.

She had made it from pieces of wood she had found on the woods and from some rope she had found in Claire's house. The first time Claire saw her wearing the cross she seemed to look at the object with dismay but then quickly covered her reaction so fast that at first Caroline thought she had imagined it.

She sighed. Now that her mind was more clear she felt the need to detach herself from Claire. Maybe it was time. It was a scary thought. She only had the clothes and the shoes Claire had provided. She might be new to this world but she had taken glimpses of it before. Mortals survived with money. They had jobs and houses and a routine. She had none of that and for the last weeks she lived in seclusion. Claire's coven was nowhere to be seen. The shock from her fall and the unknown had stunned Caroline for a long time. Her mortal wounds had taken weeks to heal. And the longer it took her to adjust the longer Claire was able to take advantage of her confusion but now Caroline was feeling danger cornering her.

She sighed again as she noticed the sun setting slowly. She felt a chill and rubbed her arms up and down; she jumped up when she heard the cracking sound of wood. As if someone had stepped on a twig.

She turned around to look at the bushes and the trees. She tensed up.

"Is anyone there?" she asked feeling fear surging through her bloodstream.

No one answered and Caroline grabbed her cross. It would offer her no protection or solace but she always relied to it.

She turned around and ran back to the lodge.

When she reached the half lit house she looked back towards the woods feeling all breathless and scared. She ran into the house and closed the door behind her. Night was falling. Her imagination was playing tricks on her.

* * *

When Caroline got in her room she noticed that Claire had left a beautiful white dress on her bed. She scrunched up her nose. This was weird.

She slowly walked towards the bed and let her hand touch the fabric. It was soft and delicate. Claire had given her three simple gray dresses to wear so far.

Caroline bit her lip and let the breath she was holding out and then she noticed that there was also a small blue box wrapped with a white ribbon next to the dress. She slowly untied the ribbon and opened the box. Inside there was a small crystal bottle of perfume. She opened the lid and inhaled. The scent was… _sinful_.

She clumsily let the bottle drop on the bed and some drops of the perfume spilled on the dress. The scent filled the air and Caroline took a step back. Somehow this did not only confuse her but made her feel a nagging feeling of fear.

She shook her head. She was being stupid. There was no reason to fear.

She went to take a shower. Soon it would be midnight and she had to go find Claire for the spell. Her heavenly aura had almost vanished. She could feel it. This would probably be one of the last times Claire would perform her spells on her. This new dress was probably a sign that her time here was up.

Caroline wore the dress and looked at the mirror. She touched the cross that seemed out of place in the image she was seeing. The dress seemed weirdly angelic. And yet it was hugging her curves provokingly. The silk was falling on her skin like a cool caress. Caroline let her hands feel the texture of the fabric and she could not help but admire how it felt on her body and on her fingers. She knew it was a sin to enjoy such materialistic things but she could not help it. She was not in Heaven anymore after all.

She felt tears filling her eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. What was she going to do? Where would she go? She had no one. No one cared for her anymore. There was not even one person in the world that had her best interest in mind. She had no friends. No loved ones. She was…alone. Totally and utterly alone.

Claire was not her friend. If anything she was just using her and taking advantage of her. Caroline bit her lip harshly. She did not know why but tonight she felt more than ever the demanding need to run away. It was pure instinct. It was screaming inside her. Maybe leaving Claire would be for best. But how would she survive? She had no money or anyone to turn to. Claire told her that once her aura would fade she would give her some money before sending her away but Caroline didn't know if she trusted her enough to do this.

What had she done? Why didn't she think of all of this before? It seemed as if her mind was so clouded. It was as if her every instinct was coming alive tonight. It was as if it was forcing her to escape the haze she was in for weeks.

Why was she here? Why had she stayed? Why had she trusted Claire so much?

This was so confusing. She let her fingers touch the cross hanging on her neck. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

Every time she was thinking of leaving she was getting dizzy and lost. The idea of surviving on her own was terrifying and she was afraid to face the world on her own. She could end up homeless and lost and she did not know how to survive in the mortal world but she could always find refuge in a church. Why hadn't she thought of that? She could ask for refuge in her Lord's home.

She hugged herself and felt a shudder go through her. God she missed Heaven. She missed her wings.

She felt the sting of tears and the need to scream. All of her suppressed feelings were coming up to the surface violently. It was overwhelming. It was painful. She thought the pain had passed away. She thought this was becoming easier but how could it become easier when she didn't even face her pain? What was wrong with her? What was happening? The moment she fell was so painful and for days the pain had been sharp and excruciating on every level but then it got dull and distant. Why was it back now? Why tonight?

She gulped down and felt the tears chocking her. She saw the clock on the wall. It was almost time. She had to go to Claire. To give her aura.

God! Why had she done this? Why did she give her last grace to a person she hardly knew? How could she have been so stupid?

She got up and starting pacing around. She felt shaking as if she needed something she could not name. She ran her hand through her unruly curls. Every memory was hitting her mind now like lighting. Her fall. Her exile from Heaven. Her wings had been clipped. Her grace lost.

Demons ate her grace. Why didn't she go to the place her grace had fallen though? Maybe some of it could be left. Maybe it was not gone in the first place? But Claire said it did. And she trusted her. From the very first moment. Yes she had saved her but she also trapped her in this house. And she didn't even try to leave. All she did was take strolls on the woods. Always near the house.

She was about to go mad. What was happening? She needed to make these thoughts stop. She needed to make the pain stop. She needed to relax.

She needed….

She looked around and saw the cup of tea next to her nightstand. She rushed to it and took it to her hands and gulped down a few sips. She closed her eyes feeling the tension leaving her body; she sighed as she realized that it had been hours since the last time she drank her tea. Her walk in the woods had lasted more today. She was most of the day out.

She sighed and exhaled tiredly as she drank more mouthfuls from her tea. She started taking deep breaths as her panic slowly dissolved. She was being silly. She was scared of going out on the real world and everything seemed terrifying but she knew that Claire would help her. Her aura would help good witches and when it would be gone the demons would not be able to track her down anymore. She would be safe.

She drank her tea and fell back to the bed. She smiled feeling relaxed. There was no need to get stressed. Everything would work out. All she had to do was stay calm and hear Claire's advice.

Heaven was lost to her but a whole new world was opening its embrace to invite her in. It would not be that bad. For now she had a place to stay and she was lucky that Claire was there to help and protect her.

She pushed herself up to her elbows and watched at the clock. It was almost midnight. Time for the spell. Even though she felt sleepy now she had to go to Claire.

She went and straightened her dress in front of the mirror. She smiled at what she was seeing. She liked this dress. She turned around and looked at the perfume bottle and a mischievous smile graced her lips. Her vanity won. She shrugged and with sluggish moves she stumbled to the bed and giggled as hopped on the mattress and opened the bottle lid and inhaled the enticing scent. She let a drop fall on her wrist and she smelled her skin. She hummed pleased. She never knew what sexy meant before but this had to be it. There was something alluring and vibrant about this scent and so she put some drops behind her ears too. She smiled pleased and got up.

She left her room and went to the room on the back side of the house where Claire was performing her spells. The first time she had gone in there it had felt weird. As if she was entering a dark place but that had probably been because it was the first time Claire was sucking away part of her aura. After that time it became easier going in that room.

She approached the door with a small smile on her lips. She knocked and waited until Claire told her to come in.

When she entered the room she immediately saw the pentagram on the floor. The one where she was standing in every midnight. However this time there were lit candles all around it forming a circle.

Claire smiled at her and told her to come in and close the door behind her.

Caroline blinked for a moment. She looked around without understanding the need to do so. The air seemed thicker and she felt goosebumbs covering her whole body. The last time she had felt that way when was she was bathing in the stream. It was a feeling that resembled danger and her legs were almost giving out.

"Is everything alright Caroline?" Claire asked and eyed her carefully.

Caroline gulped down and shook her head.

"Yeah…I think," she whispered in uncertainty. Claire smiled encouragingly at her and came closer. She smiled and went and closed the door behind Caroline. Caroline turned around at once when she heard Claire locking the door. However Claire did not seem to mind Caroline's uneasiness.

"Please enter the circle," Claire instructed but Caroline remained rooted on her spot. She looked outside the windows. Everything seemed so dark.

Claire raised her eyebrows as she waited for Caroline to go and stand in the middle of the pentagram.

"Uhm, why the candles?" Caroline asked demurely. She looked at the bright circle and then turned to look at the locked door. She clasped her hands and fiddled with her fingers as felt ripples of anxiety wash over her.

"The leftovers of your grace are almost gone," Claire informed her and Caroline felt a pang of pain shot through her heart.

Claire was already opening her grimoire and checking out the spell she needed while holding a charm in her hand and waiting for Caroline to enter the circle.

"I am enhancing the spell in order to not miss any of your aura. Nothing for you to worry about," she soothed her and Caroline nodded but without feeling the same certainty as before.

"Well?" Claire impatiently gestured towards the circle.

Caroline took a hesitant step towards the cycle of candles. This didn't feel right. But she could trust Claire. Right?

She took one more step and heard Claire huff.

"Please Caroline. We do not have all night," Claire complained and Caroline chewed on her bottom lip.

"You said my aura is fading. How more times will you have to perform the spell?" Caroline questioned and Claire shrugged.

"Three more I think," Claire carelessly said and Caroline nodded even though she faltered.

"So tonight is not the last time?" she pressed and Claire smiled at her. An innocent looking smile and Caroline for some reason recalled Elijah's teachings about the Snake's deception in the Garden of Eden.

"Of course not sweetie," Claire denied and Caroline walked towards the circle while still searching with her eyes the rest of the room. She took a deep breath and walked in and stood in the middle of the pentagram.

Claire's lips turned into a sinister smile that made Caroline feel as if thousands of spiders were crawling on her skin.

She instinctively tried to take a step back and get out of the circle but Claire snapped her fingers together.

"Incendio," she articulated clearly by stretching the word in a satisfied tone.

Caroline yelped when the candles ignited their flames that rose straight up reaching almost the ceiling. A blazing wall of fire surrounding her.

Caroline span around herself feeling the heat from the embers all around her. Hot in their blinding luminance and ready to devour her alive. The candles lit up more and Caroline felt the heat their flames emanated licking the air around her skin. Their smoke made her cough. It was toxic. She put her palm in front of her mouth.

She tried to approach one side of the circle with the intention of somehow escaping the roaring fires but the fire was too hot. So hot that Caroline watched with wide eyes as the black candles melted and the fire started licking the wooden floor without burning it. Tears fell from Caroline's eyes from the heat and the smoke she was inhaling. The circle of hot inferno had imprisoned her inside the pentagram that glowed beneath her feet and Caroline turned around to look at Claire pleadingly. The witch was looking at her with dark depraved gaze full of amusement through the curtains of fire.

Caroline tried to get out of the circle but she realized she could not. The moment she was approaching the fire the flames were igniting and the heat seemed as if it was lava ready to swallow her whole and turn her to ash.

"Holy fire," she whispered terrified. The only thing able to trap an angel. She might not have her wings but the last shreds of her grace were now caged by the fire. She could not get out.

"What are you doing?" she coughed out with difficulty and Claire giggled. Sweat started running down Caroline's body and she was about to pass out when she heard a sharp voice cutting through the air like a whip.

" _Enough."_

Caroline's eyes fluttered as she fell to the floor in the middle of the circle of fire.

The man's voice was deep like velvet but also razor sharp and upon his appearance the lights in the room aside the fire circling Caroline flickered.

Claire rolled her eyes and waved her hand on the air carelessly.

The fires stopped raging all around Caroline. The circle of fire was still there but the flames were shimmering only some inches high. The heat was not scorching Caroline anymore. The smoke dissolved and the angel could breathe again.

She looked up through her glossy eyes and saw a man standing next to Claire. Her pulse quickened as she noticed that everything around him seemed to vibrate. His body emanated so much power that Caroline could feel it even though she should not be able to without her powers.

The man was tall with dirty blond curls and a stubble covering the elegantly sculptured features of his face. He was watching her intently. His gaze fixated on her kneeled form on the floor. Caroline felt her mouth going dry. She could not take her eyes away from that man. She felt as if she had met him before but she would never forget his face. It was a feeling she could not describe. A deadly whisper in her mind calling a darkness she had never felt before.

His eyes were so blue. It was if the deepest oceanic shade of the sea and the sky was reflecting in his orbs. And his gaze was so intense. It was taking her breath away. She could not focus to anything else except those eyes.

He then smiled at her. A dangerous smile that even though it seemed tender Caroline could see that it was lethal. It was poison. His dimples appeared and Caroline trembled. She tried to get up. Her legs were shaking. She felt boneless.

"Thank you for holding on to that precious gem for me sweetheart," the man thanked Claire without taking his eyes off Caroline. Caroline heard the seductive accent of his voice; his penetrating gaze was still roaming over her body as she stood up.

The Holy fire around her kept her trapped inside the circle. And those blue eyes that kept slowly travelling up and down body were making her feel naked and exposed.

"Anything for you brother," Claire smiled at the man and placed her hand on his shoulder. The man took her hand and kissed it gently while still looking at Caroline.

"You have taken all you needed from the Angel sister?" he asked and Claire hummed and nodded contently.

Caroline was starting to hyperventilate. Panic was starting to settle in. Every feeling of trust and easiness was now gone.

"Claire…what is going on?" she stuttered as her eyes flew between Claire and the unknown man that was dressed all in black.

He was looking at her now with a satisfied grin.

Claire left his side and approached the circle of fire. Her eyes locked with Caroline's.

"I am sorry Caroline but my name is not Claire," she laughed with a pout on her lips. She pretended to be concerned and her tone had a hint of an apology that sounded fake inside the witch's jest.

"It is Rebekah," she winked and Caroline started breathing with difficulty. This time it was not the smoke that was suffocating her.

" _Rebekah_?" she uttered with dread.

"Daughter of Mikael," Rebekah whispered with pride and Caroline gasped terrified.

Rebekah gave her a lopsided smile and moved out of the way as the man came closer to the circle.

Caroline's body convulsed in absolute horror. Every inch of her screamed in trepidation as the shock was now replaced with mortification. A tear fell from her eye.

 _Brother._ Rebekah called him brother. That could only mean…

"Who are you?" she whispered as fright was the only thing she felt. The man beamed at her and looked at her with so much desire and blunt possessiveness that made everything around her spin. He was smiling tenderly at her and was giving her a knowing look.

"Can't you tell?" he asked her. His voice a purr that made her stomach lurch. Bile was coming up her throat. Her mind screamed Elijah's name. Over and over again. She called for God desperately and the man in front of her was staring at her now with a mocking glare as if he could read her thoughts.

"You have been missing something little angel," he drawled and extended his palm towards her. The inside of his palm turned upwards.

Caroline swallowed hard and then her hand clutched her neck as a bright sphere of light hovered on top his palm. The light so bright that even Rebekah had to avert her eyes to the side as the harsh pure brightness illuminated the whole room.

Caroline looked at the untainted light with so much longing and pain and then looked at the man pleadingly. Her heart was about to give out. Her blood was rushing in her veins like wildfire. She tried to reach for the light but the Holy fire kept her trapped. She was so close and so far away.

"Your grace is beautiful," he smiled sweetly at Caroline and she shook her head as more tears feel from her eyes. She implored him with her gaze but no words could come out of her lips. The sphere of light was calling Caroline. A part of her so violently ripped out of her soul and now was so close that she felt her whole body aching. She wanted to be reunited with her grace. To fill her wounds close and her soul to be mended again and become whole once more.

"Almost as beautiful as you," he praised in a whisper wrapped in temptation and lust and his compliment made a sound of pure terror escape Caroline's lips.

He stepped closer to the fire and Caroline instinctively took a step back feeling the fire behind her back burning her.

"Oh please," Rebekah's sarcasm broke the spell and her brother turned and looked at his sister with menace.

"Silence sister," he growled and Caroline's lips trembled.

"Sister?" Caroline muttered feeling sear terror enveloping her whole. The man turned his attention back at her and his gleaming with darkness gaze made Caroline feel sick.

"You know who I am Caroline," he said softly and Caroline started up at him. The man… _the Devil_ …swayed his hand elegantly on the air and Caroline's grace vanished from sight. Caroline eyes were filled with anguish as she realized that her grace now belonged to him.

She looked at him feeling helpless and terrified. Cornered like a sacrificial lamb. She could not look away now. His dark gaze was holding her captive. He smiled at her and she froze. This could not be happening.

The man walked inside the Holy Fire circle. Caroline's eyes widened and she looked at him petrified. There was only one creature that could yield Holy Fire and remain unscathed. The only one burned and condemned by it. The only One ruling the Holy fires of Hell.

The fire that was keeping her trapped had not touched him and didn't seem to affect him at all.

"Oh my God," she whispered petrified and tried to back away. The fire scorching her and the man's hand quickly wrapped around her waist bringing her closer to him.

"Quite the contrary," he drawled with a smirk.

Caroline felt the heat that was coming out of his body. She could not breathe. She struggled to get away from his hold but he was not letting her go. The fire around them then grew and rose up.

He bent his head down; her chest crashed over his and his lips touched her ear. His thumb caressed her cheek and skimmed the vein in her neck that was erratically pulsating now.

"You can call me Klaus," he whispered and Caroline cried weakly as her body went paralyzed in his hands. Klaus kissed her forehead and Caroline screamed as images of fire and torture appeared before her eyes. Fire was now licking her skin. Burning her. Scorching her.

She felt the world cracking beneath her feet.

And then there was only darkness.


	2. On the Brink of the Abyss

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 **A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night**

Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.

* * *

 **Additional Warnings for this story:**

No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.

Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.

* * *

 **Chapter II: On the Brink of the Abyss**

x

"Farewell happy fields,  
Where joy forever dwells: Hail, horrors, hail."

― John Milton, Paradise Lost

* * *

Was this heat coming from brimstone and fire? Was this burning sensation Hell's embrace?

Caroline could not tell because she had forgotten even how the gates of Heaven looked like. They had taken that away from her and yet right now she knew beyond doubt that whatever she felt in her weakened state was Holy. She was not here to walk the fire. She had succumbed to a sky that belonged to the stars. The bed she rested her body upon was made from Holy water and Unholy flame. It was warm and in her unworthiness it was leaving her in the Divine's mercy but the eyes that pierced her soul reaching down to her core and stilling her breath belonged to another blood. To the Devil that cast her here.

The image of _Klaus_ ' eyes attacked her with so much force that she wanted to scream but instead the veil was lifted and she remembered again. Her sight was once more restored as she claimed knowledge again to the light of Heaven. Flashes of memory invaded Caroline's mind. All the memories she had lost from Heaven during her fall to Earth were now returned to her and she felt like her old self again.

And there was also something else. An instinct that awoke and told her that _the Ruler of Darkness_ had not taken her to Hell. She felt so tired and sleepy and she could not even open her eyes but she could feel deep in her bones, in the dust and in the iron they carried within her, the calling of the Old. She could feel it in the way she felt her spirit soar and her blood roar. She had returned to sacred ground but that did not change how her wings were still cut and how her grace was still gone.

An absence that still bled deep in her soul leaving her crippled and in agony. Her suffering was not only prolonged but it was also increased as she was now once more at grounds where her kind thrived once upon a time but _she_ did not belong here anymore. Not with her grace forever gone.

No, she realized with an ache that pierced her heart like a scorched blade melting the ice that entombed her in stillness. Her grace was not gone or lost. It was in _the Serpent's_ hands.

Caroline's eyes flew open and her heart almost exploded inside her chest. She could hear her heartbeat echoing inside her eardrums. She was lost inside colors of grey. She was lying in a bed of smoke and fog that was wrapped around her body like a shroud. She felt boneless and weightless as if she was floating on air and inertia.

She tried to move but she felt so weak and unable to command her body to break even into a stir. She moaned and her eyes fluttered. The colorless nebula was licking her skin but it was not tainted by the burning sensation of the Holy Fire Mikael's child had used to hold her hostage before. There was no more heat and no more flames licking her skin. Rebekah's laughter did not accompany the suffocating fire. The arms of the Devil were not caging her anymore.

 _'No'_ , she realized in horror. She was not in sacred ground. She was floating in the void.

As the memories of _the Devil_ danced inside her mind like a hurricane her body spurred into motion. It was terror that took her out of the haze and finally brought life back to her.

"Oh God," Caroline lamented in terror and rose from the mist. The steaming haze cascaded down her body and hair as she sat up. She frantically looked around and her eyes widened.

She was not in Earth anymore. But she was not in Hell either. She remembered everything about Heaven once more even though the knowledge of the Divine had been concealed from her when she fell and yet she was not in Heaven either.

When _the Deceiver_ tore her from the prison of the Holy Fire she expected to be thrown to the deepest pits of Hell. When he held her her eyes saw inside _His_ visions _His_ dark domain. The horrifying images were enough to taint her eyes and to take away her sight before she fell into excruciating darkness and nothingness.

She expected to wake up blind in Hell but she did not expect to open her eyes and see the Unseen.

She felt the cold stones beneath her body and got up. Her legs were trembling and she felt restless as she looked up to the sky and realized that above her head laid a twirling shade of chaos and dreams. A web of time and space. The plane that held creation in suspension.

She had heard of it only in legends. The world between worlds that was the map and the lock and key that led to the Garden of Eden. Some even believed that before the Garden was locked away from everyone its wonders thrived in the Between and were a bridge between all dimensions. When the tree of the Garden -and with it everything in its close proximity- was sealed away and became unseen, even by Heaven, the rest of Eden withered into the Unseen and its wonders perished into Chaos.

She looked around and gasped in awe.

There was no air to breathe even though she was still breathing. Dust and mist danced at her feet. A choir of cloud and wind beneath her knees.

Caroline realized that she was in the between. The only place of solidarity and balance for all creatures. Divine or not.

No one was allowed to enter this place unless ordered by Elijah himself or…. _the Father of Lies_.

Caroline had doubted that this land even existed.

She took some tentative steps forward and wrapped her hands around her torso. Shivers ran down her spine. She had heard of Hell and of the lost Garden of Eden many times. She had even dreamed of those places and she knew they existed but this place was different.

She should not be here. She felt like an intruder. She noticed how beneath her steps and above her head the infinity was spread to the beyond and even further away. She had once talked about this place with Elena. When they were young and despite the fact that it was forbidden to speak of it. Some called it Chaos. Some called it the final ground as it was the end of the Abyss that was once used to cast _Him_ …the _Devil…_ in Hell.

If the legends were true should she keep walking she should meet up in the North of Eden's Shadows and across the Event Horizon the Gates of Heaven. And on the opposite direction across the Unseen Declivity and the Black Steepness the Abyss that led to Hell also lied ahead.

What was she doing here? Why had the King of Hell brought her here? Why not cast her straight to Hell?

She was afraid to even speak or think of his true name. And yet she had fallen into his trap. Tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered everything that happened. And now she was lost once more.

She started walking. Towards North. Her heart hoping beyond hope to find the Gates of her Home first. A home that had its doors closed for her.

* * *

Mist was swirling up with her every step and Caroline picked up her pace. The winds howled around her, a portent of chaos and disastrous pandemonium. A turmoil that always halted time and brought across the skies blood stained clouds. She might have lost her wings but now that she was here to the great divide between Heaven and Hell her senses were more alert and she could feel the presence of evil lurking on her every step. She clutched her neck with her fingers and looked around while still keeping a fast pace and for some reason she felt as if she was walking straight towards her doom. It was a sensation closer to premonition and her whole body shivered as she felt the vibes of danger pass through her.

She heard thunder and felt the blackness and the world around her shook as wings of decay flattered and distorted her vision with their bleak aura.

She screeched and stepped back, her first instinct telling her to spread her wings and fly away but she had no wings any more. Instead she looked up at the shadows that were about to swallow her and tried to run to the opposite direction when the figure of a man landed in front of her, his thorny knee breaking the stones beneath the mist with a thud. His hooves scratched the ground and he lifted his head up to stare at her with a sinister smirk while his bloodshed eyes roamed over her with lust; his black wings flapping behind his back. His forked tongue was flicking in and out his mouth repeatedly in a continued terrifying hiss.

"Going somewhere little Angel?" he taunted her with a hoarse voice and terror gripped Caroline's heart and she tried to move away from him but before she could another demon with fox ears and scales landed behind her and grabbed her by the shoulders. She felt that demon's hot breath against her ear and heard the sexual whistle that turned her stomach. Bile rose in her throat when the demon that held her licked the side of her face with a moan and she screamed with all her might realizing that this was her end; tears burned her vision when the two demons laughed and she felt her body been thrown between harsh claws that treated her like a rag doll. Her strength did not compare with theirs and when their inhuman hands groped her she opened her mouth to helplessly scream again when a thunderous command broke through the demonic roar.

"Enough!"

The sound was harsh even to her ears; the demons flinched and pushed her away when their ear drums bled at the Holy battle cry that followed. Caroline stumbled back and fell down on the ground too but sighed in relief when she glanced up to the familiar white feathers that swept the air.

"Step back!"

The order came from a familiar voice and Caroline saw the white robes and the golden sandals and her eyes travelled up until they landed to familiar faces that shone in grace and light.

"Bonnie, Elena," Caroline exhaled relieved and Elena stepped towards her making sure that her ivory wings would shield her from the demons. Caroline's breath caught in her throat and her heart ached at the sight of those majestic bright white wings that used to be part of her too. Her whole body ached for them.

The two demons regrouped and their claws elongated. They hissed but Bonnie and Elena did not back down. Instead Bonnie gripped the hilt of her blade in warning.

"She is to be delivered to our Lord," the bald snake demon said and licked his lips and he sniffed the scent the angels emanated and moaned in pleasure. The demon next to him mimicked his reactions.

"She is to attend the trial," Bonnie sternly retorted with an unyielding tone that made Caroline frown as shivers erupted on her skin.

"Trial?" Caroline mumbled confused and felt tingles of fear blooming all around her.

"Come with as Caroline," Elena softly prompted and extended her hand towards her with a nod and Caroline smiled at the warmth her friend cast her way but as she tried to touch Elena's fingers the fox demon intervened and threw Caroline to the ground harshly.

Elena's wings spread and tension rose. Elena was ready to fight and Caroline stared up at the Angels and the Demons fearfully when Bonnie put a hand in front of Elena shaking her head in a gesture of silent forbiddance.

Bonnie stepped forward and Caroline stood up feeling the need to find refuge in Elena's arms once more but this time Elena stepped back and averted her eyes.

"Elena what is going on?" Caroline questioned feeling cold and afraid at the way the demons leered at her.

"There is no need for any kind of confrontation here. We want the same thing," Bonnie relented and one of the demons laughed and approached her. Bonnie and the snake tongued demon stood face to face and the demon snickered.

"If so…" the other demon smugly chirped with a satisfied voice and before Caroline knew what was happening two heavy manacles forged in Holy Fire had chained her hands and the demon's claws grabbed her by her upper arm. Caroline did not dare move. Terror filled her whole and was stunned when Elena came by her other side and held her from the other hand.

The demon and Elena propelled her forward and the other demon and Bonnie led the way in front of them.

'What is going on?" Caroline asked with a trembling voice and Elena opened her mouth to speak but Bonnie turned her head back and stared at Elena with a forbidding glare and Elena bowed down her head and remained silent.

They kept dragging her along and Caroline felt her toes sliding on the smoke and mist as she was too numb to even resist or even walk. Like a puppet she was caught in strings and moved towards a destiny that brought her only desperation. She looked down and tears fell from her eyes when she stared the chains that were locked around her wrists.

* * *

Caroline did not know what to expect but surely the last thing was for the demons and for her sisters to bring her to the Circle of Justice.

She did not know what to make of it. She stood before the Ruins where the Angelic Pact of Peace had been signed by the Original Archangels eons ago and ended the Great Apocalyptic War. The last Third War that had almost decimated all angels and demons alike. Countless eons before she was even created.

Everyone was taught about the Wars and their repercussions and everyone bowed to the Pact but none was allowed to speak of those things. Not ever.

Caroline had read everything about the Circle in the sanctified scriptures but nothing prepared her for what she saw now.

Among the mist, the chaotic nebula and the stars, engulfed in shadows light and darkness, pillars without beginning and end stood. The pillars of creation seemed to be rooted in mist and brume and rose up to infinity. The structure was intimidating and grandiose. The mist seemed to recoil around the pillars and the air seemed to vibrate.

The Ruins existed even before the recording of creation. No one knew who created the stones of Judgment. Some relic documents that Caroline had read in secret a long time ago -despite the fact that it was forbidden- claimed that the existence of the Ruins predated even Divinity; but how could that be possible?

Most said that the Ruins was what was left from the Grand Towers, the Columns, the Pillars, the Citadels, the Terraces and the Circles that supported the Hanging Gardens of Eden. A whole city of beauty, miracle and grandeur. Forever lost. Now only Ruins and Remnants stood as Chaos had swept over everything locking the Garden of Eden somewhere no one even knew. Not even Elijah.

Caroline was so absorbed by the breathtaking and terrifying sight; her eyes kept taking everything in and for a while she forgot that she was in chains and was dragged to this site by demon and angel warriors.

She should not be here. If they were taking her chained here and were stepping inside the Circle of Justice then everything could happen.

Caroline did not understand what was happening. The demons looked ecstatic but Bonnie and Elena both shared stony expressions.

Caroline gazed up at the colossal Archway that led inside the Circle and as she walked through the smoke escorted by black and white winged creatures she started hearing a lot of murmuring. The buzz and the whispers were becoming louder and clearer with every step she was talking until bright harsh luminance assaulted her eyes. The demons and the angels that held her did not even flinch but now that she was subjected to mortality Caroline could not adjust that easily to such harsh conditions. She turned her head to the side and closed her eyes. The light burned.

She heard a lot of chatter and even chuckling and felt thousand of eyes focus on her and when she was able to open her eyes again she gasped.

A teeming crowd was gathered inside the Ruins creating a cacophony of chatter and howling. Unearthly shouts and laughter bounced on the Pillars and the stones disrupting the Chaos that loomed above the Circle.

Demons and angels were sitting in the stone seats that created circles around a vast stage that seemed to be lowered to the writhing mist and surrounded by more Pillars. The seats were separated by horizontal walkways and vertical steps and getaways that led to the lower level where a semi circled platform from stone and marble was set in the very center of the stage that was the very center of the Circle of Justice.

An elevated podium was facing the platform that wedged down in the mist and above the circles of seats on the North and South side were elevated temple looking balconies under monumental mammoth domes with throne like seats that faced the stage. The prodigious structures were surrounded by more pillars with never ending beginnings and ends. Everything was made from marbles, stone and stardust.

The acoustic in the place was perfect and even the slightest of whispers could be heard loud and clear.

The Ruins were packed with demons and angels. The seats had been divided in half dividing the Circle into two equal half moons. The one half on the East and South side was filled with demons and the other on the West and North with angels. Both sides separated.

Caroline peeked at Elena that still held her and tried to look at Bonnie that now walked in front of her with one of the demons that had shackled her but no one was looking at her. They were leading her towards the semi circle platform in the center of the Ruins. At the stage.

Caroline blinked when they led her to the center of the Circle and made her step into it.

She looked at Elena that said nothing. Those that stepped into the Circle of Justice were meant to be seeking for Justice or Justice was meant to be cast upon them.

With uncertain steps she stepped in the semi circled platform opposite to the podium and she jumped up when a blend of Holy Fire and Hellfire erupted all around her through the belly of the mist at her feet and imprisoned her. She stilled.

There was a lot of chatter from the audience especially from the side of the demons that were even pointing at her with glee. Caroline was horrified. The demons formed an enormous riotous crowd.

Some of the demons that attended the Circle were practically naked. Many of them were disfigured. Some had horns and long thick tails. Claws and paws and tentacles. Barbs and scales and talons. Some had wings that seemed to dissolve on their backs. While the wings of the Angels and the Archangels were majestic and beautiful giving away glorious luminance and showing feathers that seemed to be made by grace and glory the demons seemed to have bat wings that were made from rot and ash and gooey veins. Some of them had snake tongues and others spider limbs. Eyes all black or filled with blood or empty gaps in the places where eyes should be and all that only if their features were somewhat similar to that of a human or an angel creature.

There were other demons that were beasts and monstrous. The seats were swarming with such vile creatures. Snakes with heads of dragons. Crocodile heads with bodied ending in goat feet. Horse bodies with the heads of wolves. Centaurs and giants. Fairies and Vampires. Zombie looking monsters and succubus females with bare breasts and bodies that ended in fish tails. Creatures that were made of slime and blood. Harpies with pointed ears and noses that spat venom. The list was grotesque and kept going in indescribable ways. Darkness was leaking out. Caroline could never even believe that these Hell creatures could ever even exist. Heaven was shielding the light angels like herself from ever facing such monstrosities.

It was so horrific that Caroline could not even look at them. And all of them were staring at her. Some naked, some in rags, some in flimsy provocative clothes and others in fine clothing. Black, gold and red and dark shades were the colors that prevailed in their hordes. All of them having cruel gazes and horrifying grins. All of them shouting and making vulgar gestures at her and the angels. Their excitement was nothing less than feral and it was terrifying. Should they attack it would be a blood bath.

And on the other side sitting silently on the stones were so many of her brothers and sisters. Their side was hard to look upon. The shine they emanated competed with the Sun. Ethereal creatures made of beauty and light. Warriors and pacifists have both gathered in the Circle. Messengers of joy and angels of light like herself. Pristine and delicate. Champions of faith and protectors of the Divine. Some wore modern day clothing. Suits and modest dresses and others wore old chitons, togas, robes and tunics. Many were wearing armors and coats that carried angelic weapons. A selection of silver, white and grey colors blended in harmony.

Women and men and children. Elders and youth. Their beauty sublime making the mortal eye ache and bleed upon their dainty and celestial appearance. Their skin glowed with their inner light and their eyes were bright like stars. All of them looked refined and unworldly. They emanated both serenity and godly danger. However in comparison with the demons they remained stoic and silent. Their spines held steel and they all were rigid. Their gazes were mournful as they directed them to her. Many of them looked at her however with pity and seemed offended by her appearance.

Caroline just realized how she must be looking to them. With self-conscious eyes she started down and looked at the dress she was wearing. The dress Claire had given her to wear. No, not Claire. _Rebekah_. Archangel Rebekah. And something told her that the dress she now wore was not even given to her by Rebekah. It was probably a gift from the King of Hell and that alone made her whole body cringe underneath the luscious silk.

The dress screamed of seduction and everything that was carnal and unholy and she knew that her brothers and sisters were not approving of her sight. Her curves were pronounced; her legs bare, her breasts pushed up under the tight revealing décolleté. All her back was exposed.

The naked angelic flesh in Heaven was cherished for its purity and its beauty and for hosting the soul and the grace.

But a human body trapped in fine revealing silk and covered in tantalizing perfume was not revered or known for its chastity. The way she was dressed was all about sexuality and arousing femininity and enhancing her mortal fragility; everything demons craved and angels castigated and Caroline was now unable to believe that she actually wore this dress on her own free will and even enjoyed wearing it and took great pleasure at watching her reflection trapped in her own vanity.

What was she thinking? How had she allowed herself to act that way? And surely her angel brothers and sisters thought of that too and it reflected in their chiding gazes whilst the demons kept lewdly whistling at her.

Caroline shivered and looked down in shame; she bit her lip in an attempt not to cry just as three guardian angels landed on the stage followed by three demons.

The angels stood at Caroline's right side and the demons at her left. All six of them standing at attention, creating an imaginary circle around her. All of them were holding shields and spears that carried the symbols of their power. The angel shields where polished carrying the Enochian Sigils of Heaven. The blades on their backs and the angelic spears they held were crafted in Holy Fire. In contrast Klaus' Crest, the wolf, was on the surface of the black and red demonic shields that carried the mark of Hell. The blades and the spears the demons yielded were forged in Hellfire.

The two demons that had brought her here from the in Between along with Bonnie and Elena flew at the temples. The demons flew at Temple in the South and Bonnie and Elena at the Northern Temple.

Horns were sounded and everyone in the Circle stood up in reverence and silence prevailed. The sound of the horns was so harsh to Caroline's ears. It took time for her to adjust to the resounding shrill noise. Without her Grace and with her wings cut she could not get accustomed to these conditions easily. It took time for her to adapt to the horns. She was also so cold and tired.

Caroline looked at the chains in her hands that reflected the fires that trapped her and felt nausea attacking as she started realizing what was happening.

But if the horns almost brought her to her knees what came next shuttered all her fragile mortal defenses. The booming sound of wings was earth shuttering and brought Caroline down to her knees making her shield her ears that bled. The chains on her hands were making it difficult for her to keep her hands on her ears despite the deafening noise.

When the horns stopped their punishing blast Caroline looked up at the Angelic temple through blurry eyes and her body convulsed.

The Seraphic Court with its entourage had entered the Northern Temple. They stood in their fine clothing and Caroline held her breath when Elijah himself stepped on the front seat of the Temple followed by his retinue.

On the Southern Temple the Tribunal Satanica occupied the Temple of Hell followed by their courtiers and comrades; all dressed in Black Royal garbs.

The Judicial system of both sides, Heaven and Hell, was present.

Caroline stood up with difficulty. Her tongue tied, her nerves twisting, drawing sharp breaths. The Seraphic Court was wearing their official uniforms. Beige and gold robes. The attire they wore when they passed judgment.

Elijah silently stood before his throne. In comparison with the Seraphic Court he was dressed in a modern black suit with a white shirt and a grey tie. Next to him Bonnie, Elena and his advisors wore simple white robes.

Only when the Seraphic Court sat the crowd of angels below at their seats also sat.

For some reason the demons both at the seats and the Temple did not sit. They remained standing upright. No one made any noise. Everyone waited silently.

And Caroline understood why when the darkness that was cast by the Black Wings of the King of Hell spread almost at the whole Circle. Every demon at the Circle kneeled and bowed in respect and obedience. They all kept their heads down.

The flutter of dazzling darkness cast a heavy shadow before Klaus gracefully landed on the stage. The stones beneath the soles of his black leather shoes cracked and the mist rose.

Caroline could not look away from the vibrant obsidian wings. The feathers looked like polished blades dipped in dark blue and black ink and smoke. Every inch of light was swallowed by the darkness of those wings that glittered with intense incandescent light that resembled the reflections of twilight, dusk and dawn. The wings seemed to be alive and seemed to be a mirror of Night.

Those were not common wings or demonic wings. Those wings were not rooting and were not in decay. Those wings were not even angel wings. They were Archangel wings like Elijah's. But while Elijah's wings were frosted in sunlight and alabaster ivory Holy Grace, Klaus' were black and dark and crafted in starlight carrying sin and the venomous aura of Hell. And yet for some reason Caroline could not look away from those dark wings and seemed to call to her. Klaus glanced up at her almost fondly and his lips curved to a taunting smirk as the wings on his back faded in a haze of smoke and fog leaving only the man behind.

A man impeccably dressed in modern clothes. And while Elijah looked serious and classic in his suit Klaus somehow looked intimidating and dangerous. There was something about him that Caroline could not describe but made her feel vulnerable and made her legs tremble. He was provoking weird sensations deep inside her belly that she had never felt before and did not even know what they even meant.

Klaus wore all black. No tie. The top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned and a lot of necklaces seemed to hang around his neck.

And he was beautiful. So very beautiful. It hurt to look at him. But Caroline could not look away.

Out of everyone that gathered in the Circle Klaus' beauty could not be compared. With his angelic features and dirty blond short hair. With his stubble and bright blue eyes and those raspberry lips. His lean physic and sinister demeanor screamed sin and ungodliness but his face and his beauty spoke of his birth right. He was an Archangel. One of the Originals. The fallen brightest star of them all.

Caroline seemed mesmerized by him and could not understand how such a beautiful angel could be so corrupt and could have created such abominations as the demons that now stood in the Ruins. Klaus had created these beasts. All of them that now bowed down at his presence were his handiwork. He had sired them in Hell and Earth. He twisted souls into demons and he created beasts in Hellfire. He spawned legions of monsters and even though some of them were beautiful most of them were grotesque and atrocious. And there he was. The King of Hell that in comparison with his subjects was a vision of beauty. Of angelic beauty. How could he have created such abominations? How could such evil even exist?

Klaus looked straight at her and Caroline almost stumbled back. He seemed to be able to read her thoughts and his crooked smile gave many promises. Promises that spoke of unspeakable things that made her blood turn to ice before igniting wildfire that rushed in her veins disintegrating the ice and leaving her breathless.

When Klaus gaze roamed over her body, sensually and slowly, Caroline felt as if he was undressing her inch by inch leaving her exposed and weak. Unlike his minions he seemed to look at her with appreciation and fondness and the longing in his gaze was not only littered with lust but with something that Caroline could not translate and left her hanging between the need to run away and to somehow go to him. It was terrifying and magnetic at the same time.

Caroline gulped down uneasily when Klaus gave her, _her_ , a slight bow. And the angels except Elijah either gasped or stilled and watched with wide eyes. Elijah on the other hand inspected the scene that was unfolding in front of him with sharp eyes.

Klaus did not bother even going at the South Temple where his throne waited for him or paid any attention at the North Temple or at his bowed followers.

With a dangerous smirk he walked closer to Caroline and the guardian angels that stood by her right rose their shields and aimed their spears at the King of Hell. The warrior angels at the Circle also rose ready to fight if necessary. However none of the demons even moved, they remained bowed. As if they knew that the treat the angels posed against their King was as harmless and amusing as Klaus seemed to find it. Or maybe it was because they waited orders from their King. Either way their behavior added more mystery and danger to the Prince of Darkness that looked at the angels with a smile that seemed to grow wider by the moment. An amused smile while he stared down the angels as if they were nothing but ants he could easily crash beneath his shoe.

"Stand down."

Elijah's stern authority was not one that could be ignored; his voice forced all angels to take a step back and resume their neutral stance.

Klaus turned and looked at Elijah with a mocking sigh. As if the Ruler of the angels had just spoiled his fun. Elijah remained seated and unmoved by Klaus' theatrics and Caroline took a deep breath. Elijah did not seem to fear Klaus and he was her mentor in Heaven. Whatever Klaus had planned maybe he would be able to put a stop to it.

Klaus eventually gestured to his demons to sit. All of them, including those at the Temple, followed his command and sat. Silently and without making any fuss.

All except one.

Before Caroline could even blink one of the demons of the Tribunal Satanica had jumped from the banister of the Temple's balcony and landed on the Stage below on his one knee. Caroline watched cautiously as the man that had human characteristics rose and walked towards Klaus. He did not look like a demon. He had black skin and beautiful features. He, like Klaus, wore modern clothes and not the Black Royal garments.

He walked with confidence and eventually joined his master. Caroline regarded the man warily. He was dressed in an elegant black suit with a black shirt and a red tie. She then noticed that at the left lapel of his suit he had fastened the Magistrate gold metal pin along with the ornamental brooch with the Wolf Crest that named him the Devil's second in command. He was the Royal advisor of the King of Hell. The Hand of the King.

Caroline watched in half fascination half mortification as all the demons bowed their heads when the King of Hell and his Counselor shook hands.

Both men shared conspiracy grins before Klaus looked at her and gave her a wink. Caroline glared at him and did not even notice how all angels scrutinized her behavior with doubt and awe. Even Elijah seemed to be analyzing her silent interaction with the Devil.

Caroline however only glowered at the King of Hell. Anger and frustration lingering in her fiery gaze. Emotions unbecoming for an angel and yet she remembered how Klaus had trapped her in the cabin in the woods and taunted her with her grace. How he had terrorized her with visions of Hell and kept her in his arms. How his touch set fire to her skin and how her fear was sidelined by erotic sinful images he compelled into her mind before she lost consciousness. It was he that was responsible for the chains that were wrapped around her wrists.

Klaus in comparison with the rest of the angels however seemed to be enjoying her reactions and while his Counselor talked to him in hushed whispers Klaus quirked his eyebrow up at her indicating that he was finding her indignation and anger a refreshing challenge.

Finally Klaus nodded to whatever the demon next to him said and took a step towards the podium. He clasped his hands behind his back and surveyed the Ruins as he leisurely strolled around.

When he spoke the angels tensed and more so when he looked up at the North Temple. Even listening to the Devil's voice was an abhorrent thought in Heaven. Klaus had retreated for centuries in Hell. No one has even heard of him for centuries and now here he was.

"So many fond memories of this ground," Klaus recalled cynically manipulating his voice into a melody of fondness and nostalgia. He looked at Elijah sharply and grinned when Elijah's calm facade cracked and a flash of discomfort appeared in his features.

It was a known legend that the last time both of them had been here together was right before Klaus' Fall to Hell.

"Marcellus. Present our case if you may," Klaus addressed his second in command spreading his hands wide open in a theatrical gesture before he went and leaned over at one of the pillars nonchalantly. Not bothering with the formalities everyone else followed.

Marcellus' eyes shone red and he grinned revealing his white teeth and fangs. He marched forward to the podium demanding everyone's attention. He stepped up at the rostrum and pompously straightened his jacket.

The Counselor cleared his throat jokingly making some of the demons in the stone seats chuckle and shake their tails and wings flippantly. The angels watched them with revulsion and all the demons hissed at once making Caroline wince.

"As Hell's Supreme Magistrate I've come to you demanding ...Justice," Marcellus claimed, feigning seriousness. Klaus had crossed his hands casually in front of his chest and enjoyed the show even though his eyes were keenly focused on Caroline.

"One of your angels did unspeakable crimes," Marcellus accused before he turned around and pointed a condemning finger at Caroline that gasped in disbelief, "and you ignored her transgressions over and over again. You accuse us for corruption and wickedness and condemn out sins. You always attack us and kills at the edge of your blessed blades without even allowing us to defend ourselves in trial but you do not do the same with your own! At least _we_ the unjust ones brought the sinner to be judged fairly," Marcellus jeered sarcastically. His every word an insult that made the angels sit at the edge of their seats contemplating of reaching for the blades.

"You all know what your servant did," Marcellus blamed all the angels, "whispers have been spreading in your domain for weeks. Your angel," Marcellus spat the last world with disgust and so much menace that Caroline shuddered. Klaus on the other hand had made himself comfortable against one of the pillars and kept his gaze fixed on the restrained angel, "sold the last remnants of her grace in exchange of shelter, food… money," Marcellus taunted the angels, "she allowed her grace to be crafted to spelled objects."

"My grace was gone!" Caroline rebuffed him angrily and Klaus' simper reflected something akin to pride at her reaction.

Marcellus glanced at her wryly.

"Let me rephrase then. She allowed the last ties to her grace to be severed as she sold-"

"I did not sell-"

"As you SOLD your angelic aura! the last remnants of your grace, to the highest bidder knowing all too well that those could even lead to your grace and even to your precious pearly gates!"

Caroline opened her mouth to protest but Valerie, Elijah's advisor, gave her a scathing look.

"Let the demon speak Caroline. You know the law. He must make his claim," Valerie, one of the high hierarchy angels scolded her and Caroline glowered at the angel that always stood by Elijah's side and had always tried to stall her progress and ascension to the ranks of Heaven. If anything Caroline did not doubt that Valerie deep down must have been enjoying this immensely.

Caroline pressed her lips and Klaus rose a knowing eyebrow at her. He was watching her attentively and acted as if he was on her side and sympathized with her when he was the one that was trying to destroy her.

Marcellus bowed at the angel on the Temple and continued as if Caroline had never interrupted him.

"Renegade demons banned from Hell can now find amulets full of angel juice in the black market and disrupt our dominion. Hell has been tainted by rebellion and your angel provided the rebels with weapons!" he accused Caroline furiously.

A buzz of hushed whispers spread between the demons and the angels.

"And that angel, the False Prophet, is brought in front of you today to be judged. She broke your rules and ours! She caused the death of many of my brothers and sisters and even the death of many of your precious humans! She might as well have murdered them herself! And you sat back and did nothing!" Marcellus bellowed.

"That's not true!" Caroline yelled. They were accusing her for murder and rebellion? For inciting war in Hell and breaking the Pacem Aeternam?

If their accusation were to stand in front of the Seraphic Court Elijah had brought with him then they would-

Caroline finally understood what was happening and the shackles on her hands rattled as she thrashed against them. Marcellus glared at her with his red-shot eyes but Caroline refused to be intimidated by her prosecutor.

"Did you not sell the leftovers of your grace? You angelic aura?" Klaus intervened knowingly leaving the pillar and Marcellus stepped down from their confrontation.

"I didn't..it was not like that!" Caroline denied with fervor and Klaus smiled at her. His eyes filled with mock sympathy.

"How was it love?" Klaus played along enjoying the anger that shone in Caroline's eyes.

"I-" Caroline hesitated, her voice trembled," It was your sister!" she spat and Klaus prowled closer to her. She stiffened at the close proximity. The flames around her lit up Klaus' face and shadows danced between them. It was as if the heat from the Holy Fire and the Hellfire did not affect the Devil at all.

"Did you know she was my _and Elijah's_ sister?"

"No..I-"

"You thought she was a witch and you made a deal with her without caring of how your aura would be used. Even against Heaven and Earth," Klaus manipulated the truth. Caroline's eyes filled with tears.

"My grace was gone. I thought she was going to use my aura to help witches. Witches that sided with the light," she exclaimed frustrated.

"If that was the case you would have not asked for anything in return. You did not even check if she was telling you the truth. You did not care," Klaus guided a confession out of her in ways that made her feel guilty. How was he doing this? He was saying the truth but it was not the truth. These had not been her intentions. She looked up and saw how her fellow angels looked at her with wide eyes full of disbelief. She shook her head wildly.

"I- I was confused," she begrudgingly agreed. She was so confused. She did not mean to say this like a confession and admittance of guilt but this was how it sounded even to her ears, "I didn't-"

"You willingly gave away your last grace?" Elena intercepted their banter. Her friend from the Temple looked at her incredulously.

Caroline cried and nodded making Elena look at her as if she had betrayed her. As if she had betrayed them all. But it wasn't like that. It wasn't! They had to understand! She didn't mean for this to happen.

"You sold it," Elena realized horrified, tears brimming in her doe eyes and Caroline felt as if somehow had thrown her into Holy Fire.

"Elena I-"

" _For so I created them free and free they must remain."_ Klaus quoted a line from John Milton's Paradise lost interrupting her.

Elena turned her head to the side refusing to even look at Caroline as she took away her compassion from Caroline effectively muting her. Tears streamed on Caroline cheeks. Klaus' irony was a knife that twisted inside her heart shredding it to pieces.

"Personally I prefer the 'better to reign in hell than serve in heaven' part but this one will also do. Sweet Caroline has free will now and she made her choice. Didn't you love?" Klaus provoked her and licked his lips at the way Caroline glowered at him despite the tears that kept falling on her face.

"No I- This is not as you try to make it seem!" she yelled in so much outrage that Elena stared at her again and gasped at her uncouth behavior.

Klaus only laughed.

"Freedom. Such a lovely concept," Klaus sighed and placed his hand over his heart ironically. "Your angel sinned. She became a False Prophet among angels" he said turning his attention at Elijah with mirth, "and your Court granted Caroline freedom for her sins. I had been lenient enough to let it pass in an effort to uphold peace," he mused feigning mercy and then looked back at the beautiful blonde creature that would soon belong to him for all eternity, "but you, in your free will my darling sweet Caroline, were free to decide for yourself and so you did. You decided to side with earthly desires and my Kingdom's promise. Your actions broke the Old Laws and even after that your brethren has not decided the cost that should be paid," Klaus scoffed and Caroline gulped at the promise of retribution in his words, "No judgment for the wicked it so seems. The cost that the rest of us.. _all of us_ are bound to pay…but only when it is convenient," Klaus' sarcasm made Caroline flinch. His voice was smooth but his eyes carried so much wretchedness in their depths. It made her soul weep.

Caroline felt as if she was suffocating. Klaus was twisting everything. She desperately uttered Elijah's name in an effort to make him understand but Valerie placed her hand over Elijah's shoulder and berated her, telling her to be silent, and when Elijah said nothing and did not even spare Caroline a glace she looked at him speechless.

Elijah treated her as if she had never been his student or his friend. In that moment she felt the sting of betrayal the most and she pinched her lips.

"We did punish her. Her wings are clipped. She was banished in Earth," the angel, Valerie, that ordered her to not speak advocated.

"But not _excommunicated_ ," Klaus enunciated the last word steadily keeping his gaze locked on Caroline that in return stared back at him mortified. This is what he wanted. It was finally out in the open. For her kind to excommunicate her and banish her to his Reign. With the blessing of the Original Archangel and their High Court. God no! There would never be any chance of atonement for her. She would burn. Forever. Klaus would torture her for eons and would turn her to a...demon! No! Oh God!

"You expect us to burn in eternal damnation but your kind is sent to live in the wonders of earth. Some would say that this is not a punishment but a reward," Klaus drawled and his eyes roamed over Caroline's body sensually making her look at him fearfully and uncomfortably. Shivers ran down her spine. She could not even move. She could not even breathe. This could not be happening.

Elena stared at Caroline with the same horror that had appeared at the faces of all angels now.

"Exile is punishment enough!" Elena's voice carried pain and dread. Caroline looked pleadingly at her. Bonnie now stood next to Elena and was holding her hand.

"It is already for you to break the rules then?" Marcellus spoke again, "You the keepers of balance that can't maintain it. You have walked the earth for ages but accuse us for doing the same. You obviously manipulate and misuse your power to your advantage but we are the ones that belong to Hell and you to Heaven," he cursed and the demons let the true forms appear in their face. Their bodies twisting into more grotesque creatures. The angels stood ready to fight.

"If you are so different from us why are your actions the same? No consequences then? Why should we banished to Hell when the same like _us_ rule the Heavens. Unpunished. Unchallenged!" Marcellus roared and all the demons growled.

Klaus snapped his fingers then and the demons fall back in silence. The angels remained uncertain of what they should do until Elijah gestured for them to sit down again.

Klaus squared his shoulders and stepped forward.

"You need to choose," Klaus said, taking charge. His voice was coated with venom and cruelty. Marcellus' menace seemed like a mewl in comparison. Klaus' rule was now unfolding itself as the King of Hell pulled the strings of everyone in the Circle, angels and demons alike, "either you abide by the rules your Liege created in the dawn of existence or we are free to challenge them," Klaus challenged and his wings spread behind his back. Black shadow and devastation sucked the light and the hope from the Circle.

The Angels paled. The Demons bowed. The message was clear. War. Klaus was threatening with Holy War.

The black and blue of his eyes turned to gold. It bled into his eyes and blended with blood. It was hypnotizing and terrifying. It tantalized the senses and made the Angels sick and the demons watched their Lord with awe and fear.

"There would be no reasons for us to not come to break your gates and enter where we belong," Klaus forewarned, his tone a lover's whisper.

Silence prevailed. Eerie silence.

"What is it that you want Niklaus?" Elijah finally spoke. His words laced with power that breathed into every Angel and weakened all Demons expect Klaus. Even the smug expression from Marcellus' face fell.

However Klaus only snickered and the smile that appeared on his lips was wide and devilish. While everyone else feared Elijah he did not.

" _Caroline,_ " Klaus only drawled in a sinful tempting voice and the Angels stilled. Caroline stared at Klaus breathlessly. He couldn't possibly mean...

The gold in Klaus' eyes fell on her and Caroline's heart started beating faster. He did not only want to send her to damnation and fire. He wanted her for himself. In ways that made her blood turn to ice. Turning her into a demon would not be enough for the King of Hell. He wanted to turn her to his slave. To his concubine.

It was known that demons abducted witches and humans and forced them to slavery in Hell forever keeping them as their concubines but this had never happened to an angel before. More so to an angel that would be enslaved in that abhorrent way by the King of Hell himself. It was treachery. Blasphemy.

"You can't do this," Caroline breathed out almost without a voice but when she searched for comfort and reassurance in Elijah's eyes she knew that Klaus had won. "Elijah please!"

Klaus narrowed his eyes at how Caroline pleaded only with Elijah and so directly. He did not linger on his little angel however. He would have time for that soon enough. All the time of the world. Instead a lopsided satisfied smirk grazed his lips and he directed his infamous mockery towards his brother with a challenging gaze.

Before Elijah could pass judgment however Bonnie spoke first.

"It was your sister that crafted the amulets. Why is she not brought before us today too? Unless you conspired with her and orchestrated everything," Bonnie accused him and the demons hissed aggressively at her. The Angels stiffened ready to face the onslaught but Klaus rose his hand in the air and his demons stopped their hissing.

"Do you have proof for this sweetheart?" Klaus challenged the angel that did not respond and he chuckled. His face turning back to its humane characteristics, the monster gone from sight. Klaus' wings smoked away into nothingness but no one felt safe. His angelic looking face was nothing but a mockery of all that was Holy. A facade that was meant to lull everyone into a false sense of safety before he would rip them apart before anyone could every blink.

"What Rebekah does on Earth is not my problem or my responsibility. It was your kind that gave her and Kol full impunity in the first place. What was it? A sacrifice for maintaining the peace and the greater good? I cannot touch her and neither can you," Klaus ridiculed the angels and took great pleasure at the way Elijah pressed his lips in a thin line.

"Rebekah is the only daughter of Mikael. One of the Original Archangels," Klaus reminded Bonnie and then pointed at Elijah, "she is not only mine but also Elijah's and Finn's sister. She is not bound to Heaven, Hell or Eden. If you suspect her connection to me because of our shared blood then you must also investigate Elijah's intentions when he was the one that instead of punishing his angel as he should he simply sent Caroline to Earth to become Rebekah's prey."

"Rebekah did not surrender Caroline to Elijah," Bonnie objected indignantly making Klaus give her a taunting smile all teeth.

"He never asked did he?"

Bonnie said nothing to that. Should Elijah had asked Rebekah for Caroline he then would have to descend to Earth to retrieve the fallen angel and then he would have to pass judgment and punish Caroline.

"Should I suspect Elijah then? Maybe he was the one that orchestrated everything in order to fan the flames of rebellion in my domain," Klaus shrugged, his eyes gleaming with maniacal excitement, "You have endured no losses," Klaus shut the Angel down, "It was _I_ that had to pay my sister handsomely in order for her to surrender me the angel and the remaining talismans. The talismans I already gave to your Court without asking anything in return may I add. All that so I could show the benevolence of my intentions as I brought Caroline to _your_ justice; while I could have very easily used her as leverage for igniting war and challenge you all into a never-ending battle that would last for centuries upon centuries. At least," Bonnie swallowed hard and Klaus saw how the angels blanched. It was one thing to battle against demons and another to have the King of Hell attack their gates and declare War.

" If you want to judge Rebekah by all means do so," Klaus continued, "if you can find her and if you are willing to break the pacification commandments the Archangels signed in blood. Truth to be told Sanguinem Pax is quite antiquated is it not?" Klaus finished smugly making his audience gape at his audacity and it was Elijah that stopped Bonnie from retaliating any further with a forbidding glare.

Marcellus took advantage of that opening and stepped up.

"It is not my King or his sister that are on trial today. It is an angel of your ranks that was brought here with your consent. An angel may I add that has just admitted in front of everyone of being guilty of all the charges! And here you are trying to trick yourselves out of the consequences by falsely accusing my Lord."

Caroline was stunned by what was actually happening thinking that it had to be a nightmare and she opened her mouth to disagree but Elijah's voice did not give her the chance.

"There will be no confrontation or violation of the Angelici Pacem Aeviternus today. Anyone that has any claim to make must speak only by presenting evidence," Elijah decreed making Marcellus incline his head at him.

No one would lay a finger on the Archangels. Even those that were stranded on Earth either by choice or exile. No one would dare to stare a new War like the Great one that lasted for millenniums and brought devastation and ruin to both sides. The balance would be kept by all costs.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Klaus bemused unfazed by the havoc he had created by even implying of defying the Old Laws, "we still have the pressing issue of sweet Caroline's pending judgment. What will it be…. _brother_?" Klaus sing sang and his smirk widened at the collective gasp he heard from the angels when the Prince of Darkness called Elijah his brother, "Justice or…war?" he challenged. His tone soft and laced with honey hiding lethal daggers ready to be unleash just underneath the surface.

Alas he would never get his War. The game was rigged from the start. His brother's cowardliness was about to give him such a lovely gift. Sweet little Caroline would be his for the taking. Too bad he would not claim her as a tribute of war but nonetheless possessing her would have to do.

Oh...he would make such a fine example out of her. For all Heaven to see. And weep. An angel odalisque bowing down to the King of Hell.

As expected he looked with immense delight at the way Elijah looked at Caroline with something close to pity for a moment before his brother's eyes hardened.

Elijah, the Archangel. The first born half-breed. The everlasting hypocrite. He would throw the light angel to Hell without sparing her even the slightest mercy as he had once done with him.

"For her crimes Caroline is to face banishment and penance in Hell," Elijah's strict booming voice shook the foundations of the Circle. He passed judgment without even daring to look at Caroline that fell on her knees in shock. Klaus beamed as he expected this reaction from Elijah. His demons cheered and clapped but sweet angelic Caroline remained broken on her knees. Tears falling from her face.

Elijah looked at him with so much enmity that was unfitting for a servant of the Lord.

"Elijah! You can't allow him to take her!" Elena protested shocked making the demons laugh at her shrill indignation.

"I can't," Elijah agreed and he only had to cast one glare at the riotous demonic crown and soon silence fell again. Klaus only rolled his eyes and leaned over at a pillar amused, "the decision must be unanimous Elena. Anyone that has any objections should speak now but remember that we are servants of the Divine. This is not about us or Caroline. And it most certainly is not for the pride of the fiends that want to force our hand. We are here to serve and those that break the sacred laws must also pay the ultimate price. The law is hard but is the law," Elijah concluded his self righteous speech and Elena averted her eyes from Caroline. Her plea forever silenced. Grief already etched upon her features. Elijah's decree was the law and everyone would fall in line. So much for free will.

"Anyone that wants to object should speak now," Elijah proposed in a strict voice but his tone did not leave any room for objections. It was an order and everyone had to obey his command.

The angels bowed down their heads. Silently condemning Caroline to Hell.

* * *

Two demons guards and two angel guards had taken Caroline away from the Circle of Justice and left her back in the mist in the between to wander without purpose and direction. She had no way to escape anyway. She was bound to mortal bones. Her wings were clipped and her grace was last seen in Klaus' hands.

Caroline looked down at her shackled hands. Everything that happened in the Circle of Justice was starting to sink it. She would become Hell's token. There was no way for the final verdict to exonerate her. Elijah himself had proposed excommunication and his word was the law in Heaven.

Caroline fell on her knees. She looked up and the nebulosity that spread its magnificence to the chaotic infinity and prayed.

Excommunication. Becoming the prisoner of the King of Hell himself. She could not even begin to comprehend what that actually meant.

Elijah just sacrificed her to avoid war. All Klaus had to do was threaten Heaven with retaliation and they offered her to him like lamb to the slaughter to avoid any further escalation. They had yielded to the King of Hell so easily. They barely defended her.

But why?

Why would Klaus' leave his seclusion in Hell so to take her to his domain? Why her?

Caroline closed her eyes and prayed knowing that soon enough she would never be this close to the Divine and to Heaven again. So close and so far away.

* * *

For hours upon hours each side presented their objections and concessions in private keeping Caroline in the dark. Each council from both sides conversed and disagreed and fought until they came to an agreement and deciding her fate. The representatives of each council withdrew and discussed and decided on the verdict.

After Elijah's motion it was a given that Caroline would end up in Hell but Caroline still hoped that maybe it would not have to be forever. Maybe her martyrdom would not have to be everlasting. Surely her people would not surrender her to Klaus' clutches forever.

Her thoughts were a tangled mess of dread as the demon and the angel guards led her back to the Circle.

Everyone in the Circle was standing now. Caroline did not dare look at her brothers or sisters or at the demons. She refused to look at Klaus that stared back at her with an expression of delight. His smirk was taunting.

No. Caroline did not look at them. She only looked at Elijah. At her mentor, her protector, her friend. Her teacher that had already clipped her wings and exiled her to earth once.

She dared him to look at her. To see what he was doing to her. To show her even a glimpse of regret. To acknowledge that he was sacrificing her when he should be fighting for her. She has done mistakes but she did not deserve this. Not this. And everyone knew it.

But Elijah did not look at her. He remained expressionless.

It was Valerie that stood up from her seat as the representative of the Seraphic Court.

Valerie stared at Elijah for a last time. Her expression grave. The Archangel gave her a curt nod and Valerie's wings led her to the stage where she stepped forward addressing all demons and angels. Marcellus stood next to her. Both of then standing as equals facing all demons and angels alike.

The members of the Seraphic Court and the Tribunal Satanica rose for the announcement of the verdict.

Caroline looked at Valerie frightfully and for the first time in her existence she saw in the eyes of the other angel sadness and sympathy. However her features were scolded back to impassiveness and Caroline finally glimpsed at the pale and gloomy faces of all the angels that stared at her with matching gazes of grief. Especially Bonnie and Elena.

Valerie spoke in a firm unforgiving voice.

"It is done. Both sides have agreed. Heaven's edict is that Caroline no longer has a place among the Glory of the Lord. She is disowned and will have to face Hell's Anathema for her sins. Till the end of all time. No appeal in her name shall be allowed. May the Divine grant her mercy in the final day of judgment." Valerie ruled as the official representative of the angels.

Marcellus next to Valerie grinned and his eyes roamed over Caroline, that was left speechless, with a depraved sinister gleam. The Magistrate spoke next in a booming voice.

"My King's will be done. Both sides have agreed. Hell's edict is eternal damnation. For her crimes against Earth, Heaven and Hell the angel Caroline will begin her servitude and penance in Hell starting from today until the end of time. May her condemnation appease our Lord, may her wings burn. No clemency will be granted." Marcellus decreed as Hell's Regal Counselor and as the personal advisor of the King of Hell.

"No," Caroline managed to utter in absolute dread, her voice breaking. She fell on her knees unable to believe what has just happened. She looked at her brothers and sisters with imploring eyes but it was as if she was invisible to them.

Klaus looked at her and his eyes slit into pools of darkness and pity that contradicted the satisfaction his stance was showing but then his lips curved to a pleased depraved smile. Caroline was staring at her brethren with disbelief and terror. She looked like a deer caught in headlights. A lamb ready to be sacrificed and to be led to its slaughter. One that surprisingly enough did not ask for mercy.

Klaus straightened his body and clapped his hands satisfied making Caroline stare up at him in absolute mortification. He returned her stare with gentleness that only promised sin. He rubbed his hands arrogantly.

"Take her," Klaus commanded. His voice had a sweet and yet ecstatic edge that made Caroline's eyes widen in undiluted trepidation.

Snarls and sneering exploded. Lewd jokes and cheering reverberated in the Circle as Klaus' demons surged forward shouting excited. Pandemonium broke loose. The boom of the demons' rotting feathers made the angels screech. Evil laughter and anarchy prevailed. Thunder and wind that carried the stench of darkness engulfed everyone.

Hooves hit the stones over the mist repeatedly making the ground quake and Marcellus' retinue flew over to the shackled angel that stared at the demons horrified as countless of clawed hands forcibly picked her up. Caroline resisted and screamed for help looking at all the angels that stared at the horror that unfolded in front of them without moving an inch. Some cried and some lamented as beastly tails wrapped around Caroline's limbs and the demons bounced Caroline's body up and down in the air throwing her higher and higher enjoying her desperate cries. Some of the angels stood frozen and some bowed their heads quietly praying but none of them did anything to help Caroline.

Caroline's struggling body was now prey on the claws of the fiends and the hellions that were groping her weak body and were tearing what was left from her dress as they carried her away from the Circle of Justice with hurrahs and yells of obscene vulgarities.

Klaus only cast a warning glare at his minions. The angel only belonged to him.

However he let his demons have their fun for now and watched with glee the way Elijah's features had turned to stone. Marcellus stayed by Klaus' side also looking pleased. Soon enough the riotous crowd left only but heavy silence as they distanced themselves from the Circle and ran towards the Abyss.

Klaus clapped his hands behind his back and simply looked at his brother.

Elijah's lips twisted in an unbecoming mask of fury. He soared with grace to the lower level. Elijah ordered Valerie to return back to Heaven and he sent away all his angels with her except those that stood by his left and right side as his protectors and advisors.

Klaus and Marcellus faced Elijah and his retinue with matching sarcastic smirks on their faces. Klaus' scoffed at the council of Angels that were nothing but a pitiful excuse of subjects that blindly followed his brother's will. Those that remained next to Elijah now were no exception.

Klaus prowled close to the angels. Darkness rising over his every step.

Both Bonnie and Elena stepped in front of Elijah ready to protect him even by surrendering their lives. Knowing that should they fall in battle for their noble cause they would still be rewarded and would not have to face Caroline's fate. Marcellus behind him chuckled and did not move at all. He knew he didn't have too.

Klaus smirk was a song of intimidation and he saw how the angels almost cowered before him. Their beauty did not compare with that of the angel he now owned possessed. Caroline was a magnificent prize.

Elijah ordered Bonnie and Elena to step down and Klaus smiled at him contently enjoying at the bitterness that now adorned Elijah's features.

"You should really be glad I am here to guide you to your preordained path Elijah and show you the way of lawfulness," Klaus mocked Elijah and saw how his brother's jaw clenched.

"Manipulating the law of Heaven is not Justice," Bonnie bit back. Her judgmental tone amused Klaus that only rose an eyebrow at the angry angel.

"Did someone just speak of hypocrisy?" Marcellus mischievously joked earning glares from the angels.

Klaus stepped forward and Elijah shielded Bonnie with his body giving a warning glower at him.

"And why do you think you are so easy to manipulate angel?" Klaus asked Bonnie with a soft alluring voice. He looked at Elena and huffed a chuckle at the way her cheeks blushed.

"You took what you wanted Niklaus. It is time for you to leave," Elijah commanded him with an imperious tone.

Klaus' eyes glistened dangerously. Gold flashed in them and Elijah tensed and stared at him with pity. Klaus held back his laughter. Elijah could keep his pity and his white wings. He would keep everything else. Especially Caroline.

"Chaos does not belong to you Elijah. You can't cast me out any longer," Klaus whispered mere inches away from Elijah's face, "you should return to your domain and hide behind your gates but I would advise you to raise the walls higher," he advised, "as you have seen my reach extends far beyond Hell."

Klaus kissed Elijah's cheek and Elijah did not move or say anything despite the gasps that escaped Bonnie and Elena. Klaus stepped back, his intense gaze still locked with his brother's before he grinned at the angels. He gave them a mocking bow and he and Marcel strode away with satisfied victory smiles.

When the demons put some distance between them Elena immediately reached for Elijah. She grasped his elbow.

"What have we done? We can't forsake Caroline!" she cried and Elijah covered her hand with his palm showing his support and torment at last.

"She was already lost to us Elena," Elijah whispered crestfallen. His voice already plagued with grief, "despite all his flaws Niklaus was right. Free will is not ours to command and Caroline has made her choice. Even long before she was cast out of Heaven."

"That does not mean she should be sent to Hell," Bonnie whispered with tears in her eyes, "all the things they will do her!" she bemoaned horrified, "the things _he_ will do to her!"

"He will destroy her," Elena deplored; her sorrow and regret could not be contained even in her tears.

"Every choice has a consequence. It is done," Elijah resolutely said and left the two angels behind. His white untainted wings taking him to Heaven.

Bonnie and Elena looked towards the direction Caroline was taken but both of them knew that they could not witness what would follow next. It would break their hearts to see Caroline's demise and so they followed Elijah in silent mourning for the friend and comrade that would be forever lost to them.

* * *

As they reached the vast darkness far across Unseen Declivity and the Black Steepness where no angel ever dared to cross Caroline lost all her will to fight. They had hauled her from the Ruins kicking and screaming, dragging her to the edge of the Abyss far away from the Circle of Justice. To the forbidden grounds. The same grounds that led to the chaotic Abyss Elijah had thrown Klaus in eons ago. They had brought her to the Brink of Hell. No matter how much she fought and cried there was no going back. All that was left was the darkness. And her imminent demise. She would never see the light again. She would never touch Heaven. She would burn.

Her brothers and sisters abandoned her. To uphold the peace. 'And to salvage their pride' a voice whispered in her mind and it became one with the screeching noises the demons were making as they carted her around like she was a weightless feather they wanted to burn to ash into the eternal fire.

But she had no feathers left herself. They had been plucked one by one by the angels long before the trial and she was left with nothing now that she was standing on the precipice of her damnation.

Caroline became a mute after tearing her lungs out. She was sure that her shrill screams and her despair would reach the Divine. The demons had taken her. Their claws broke her skin and their tails felt like whips striking flesh. And no power came down to save her. She had served and bowed and obeyed the greater good and now she was left alone to fend for herself in the hand of monsters.

Tears broke from her eyes. She had no bravery left to face this agony. Scratched and bruised she had nothing to hope for. She was passed down to demon hands and talons as they kept throwing her around their clutches as if she was a broken doll.

The leering faces, the vulgar gestures and the crude promises of her suffering in the mouths of demons were cruel and harsh but Caroline knew that they were honest. They would break her. They would tear her to shreds and would feast on her body and heart. Worse than that they would give her to the King of Hell himself.

"Let her go."

The sharp command cut through the air like thunder. Steel forged in Hellfire.

Through a blur of canines and beastly limbs she was thrown to the ground. The demons immediately obeyed at the order of their King that passed through them with grace and unyielding determination. The soulless beasts dropped her immediately and knelt down with respect in front of their Lord.

Caroline bit back a moan. The shackles in her hands were so heavy. Her dress was in tatters. Blood was pouring from scratches and cuts all over her practically naked and abused body. She did not move or looked up. Through the tears that blinded her she saw the black shoes in front of her.

Everyone around her had turned silent. She stared up and saw Klaus looking down at her. He was not smiling anymore. His face bore no expression as he intently locked his gaze with hers.

Caroline grounded her teeth and rose on her trembling legs. There was no point in running. That much she knew. Klaus would catch her. His demons would catch her. And yet every instinct she had was screaming at her to make a run for it. To escape.

She was an angel of the light. A pacifist. She was not a warrior angel and she knew that in a battle she would not last even a few seconds against demons and more so against the Prince of Darkness but not all battles were about fighting. She would not give him the satisfaction of becoming his prey. Of having him chase her and enjoying the hunt.

Klaus snapped his fingers and the manacles fell from her wrists. They clung to the stones beneath their feet. She was free. But it was an illusion. She was doomed. There was no one that could save her now.

She looked back and saw the gaping void that waited to swallow her. She stared at the King of Hell and took a step back. He followed. One step ahead he went and one step back she took.

She stumbled and almost fell but Klaus' hands caught her before she lost her balance. She gasped at the softness of his grip as he steadied her and her heart started beating fasted.

She should be strong. She should not give him the satisfaction of begging but the words that spilled from her lips had no way to remain trapped in her throat. Maybe she was weak. Maybe she was a coward. Maybe this was her cry for help. For mercy.

"I do not want to die," she pled with teary eyes and for a moment she could swear that she saw something almost human pass through Klaus' eyes.

"You won't. You are meant for greatness Caroline. _You are like me. Immortal_ ," he promised her and Caroline shook her head. Klaus' immortality for her meant only death.

The greatness he promised came with a heavy price. She would be condemned. Punished. Even thinking of all the things he would do to her was a torment she could not bear.

Klaus brought her closer to him and she struggled to get away but when his lips touched hers, soft and hot, she felt light.

Beautiful painful light. It illuminated the darkness like a falling star that burned through its fall. The light drew her in. Caroline kissed Klaus back and wings grew on her back. Klaus was restoring her grace. Emotion burst inside her. Alive. She felt alive. And her heart was set free. She felt desire and beauty and whispers of longing. She felt warmth and things that belonged to dreams and nightmares. His kiss was sin. But his sin brought fire and light. So much light. Her light. Beautiful and ageless and a rapture of love and heaven.

Her wings flapped on her back and their shine had all the demons except Klaus shy away as a web of divine soft feathers weaved her new wings that sprouted and expand in ivory colors that hid in them the light of the sun and the stars. Her wings expanded and her skin radiated with harsh luminance.

Klaus breathed new life inside her restoring what had been taken away from her.

Her eyes flew open as their kiss deepened and her light blended with his darkness. She had never been kissed before. She moaned and a tear, a diamond of light, fell from her eye. New life was poured again in her very core making her soul sing as her grace healed her wounds and soothed the ache of the part that she was missing ever since her wings had been clipped. That emptiness inside her vanished and she was whole once more. Her angelic powers were restored.

But just as she felt that she could breathe again in relief and joy a knew weight was forced upon her soul. Like black ink that swirled in clear waters and infected them with darkness. It burned through her wings and skin. She felt Klaus' mark taking over like an chain that was wrapped around her spirit deep inside her. His brand on her soul. An irrevocable part of her grace that got tainted by the Devil's touch. Klaus tongue in her mouth demanded submission and battled for dominion. His kiss corrupted. His lips punished. He had marked her soul. With one hand he gave and with the other he took.

Caroline broke their kiss just as the light died out. She panted. Her skin sparkled with the light that ran in her bloodstream and yet she felt the Devil's clutches gripping her soul tightly. It was an anchor pulling her down to Hell. A searing blade pushed deep into her darkest desires, twisting in her insides, raping her innocence.

"Much better," Klaus complimented and licked his lips slowly savoring the taste of their kiss that left bitterness and venom on her tongue. Her first kiss. The first carnal pleasure. To give her back what she lost and to stigmatize her with Hell' infamy. A brand to mark her as Klaus' possession. Angel once more but one that belonged to Hell.

Terror spread all over and her wings fluttered ready to lift her body and make her soar away from all this terror but the feline smile that appeared on Klaus lips turned her blood to poison and the shine that glossed over her body shimmered out. Her wings did not obey her. They obeyed their master now. The one that had given her the Devil's mark. Deeply rooted in her soul. Heaven had taken away the shield of divinity from her grace and their excommunication gifted her soul to the King of Hell.

Caroline tried to escape somehow from that despicable spell but Klaus' thrall was unbreakable. Caroline's legs remained rooted to where she stood and Klaus prowled closer. He traced her arms with gentle fingers and her wings flapped violently as he led her backwards. She looked back and dread was the only thing that replaced the sense of fulfillment she felt when Klaus restored her angelic grace.

Wind and the breath of fire engulfed her wings on her back. The Abyss was spitting out Hell's heat. Klaus had taken her to the edge of the cliff. Her eyes widened as she remembered all the tales and the legends of his fall and she realized what was going to happen to her.

"No," she cried in panic but could not resist Klaus' enchantment.

She looked at him and tears fell.

"Please no!" she beseeched but Klaus' fingers pressed against her lips.

"God no!" she whispered over his lips and Klaus gave her a smile full of teeth.

No one except him had ever been cast to Hell by falling in the Abyss. His demons were condemned souls or spawns sired by him in Hell. A few angels before him had fallen from Grace but they descended through chaos and stars in the same way she had when the Court of Angels had clipped her wings. All the fallen resided in Earth as mortals or even immortals but none but Klaus fell to Hell and more so by being thrown in the Abyss. Caroline would be the only one after Klaus to take the most painful of falls.

Caroline looked at Klaus with big wide eyes. Tears soaked the ground beneath her feet as they dropped from her cheeks. His lips touched her ear. His whisper caressed the pulse that throbbed on her neck violently.

"Let go."

The King of Hell's words pushed Caroline over the edge more than his hands did.

The chasm stretched into infinity beneath her falling body as Caroline's hands reached for Heaven but no one was there to catch her.

Blackness devoured her, down the rabbit hole she went. White feather wings caught on fire soaring in cinders and falling embers and smoke, as the angel of light followed Klaus' Fall and was thrown into the Abyss. Straight into Hell.


	3. Paradise Circus

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Additional Warnings:**_

 _ **This chapter and the following ones will be very DARK. This is a HORROR story. It is set in HELL. There will be graphic scenes and descriptions of torture and Klaus is literally the Devil and his Hell is filled with horrific Demons.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 **A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night**

Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.

* * *

 **Additional Warnings for this story:**

No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.

Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.

* * *

 **Chapter III:** **Paradise Circus**

x

"All hope abandon, ye who enter here."

― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

* * *

The eerie silence of this dreadful and forsaken by God place was uncanny. Deep in the womb of Hell's Underworld time seemed to have no meaning. Seconds and eons seemed to be the same. The essence of time and space was broken here.

Time was manipulated differently in Hell and Eternity itself was unfolding inside the heart of a second. It had been centuries since her Fall. Or has it been mere moments? Caroline could not tell.

She was left bound in eternal punishment inside this bleak icy garden. There was no time, no light, no grace. All there was was the coldness of the ice that was seeping into Caroline's bones and bruised skin. Her cuts were bleeding but it was the unearthly silence that was driving her mad. The solitude. The never ending time. She was forgotten in a place no Angel nor God would ever step their foot in.

The endless white was painful to the eyes and the only bright color that burst into this ghostly wasteland was the redness of the bright thick blood that was dripping from the brunches of the tree from which her cage was hanging. Veins of syrupy gooey crimson was throbbing throughout the trunk of the tree and the roots that broke the ice stones from which the tree stood. The branches had no leafs on them. No flowers. No life. The tree was decaying and its smell was the scent of roasted rotten human flesh. Caroline had threw up more times than she could remember from having to constantly inhale this horrific and nauseating smell that turned her stomach and made her dizzier still.

No matter the tears she had shed and the prayers her mind seemed to be spilling into the void Caroline understood that there was no way out.

She knew countless languages spoken by man, angels and spirits but no word could describe her fall to Hell.

The moment Klaus' marked her soul and threw her into the abyss it was the moment her soul was lost forever. She felt every excruciating moment. Fire burned her skin until it melted and got stitched back by Hell's hands. Fire sliced through skin and feathers. Embers and cinders, soot and smoke became her shroud and tomb.

This was nothing like her Fall from Grace had been when the Angels had clipped her wings and cast her to earth. That pain had been merciful in comparison to this.

Thousands knifes raped her body. Endless sins busted under her skin. Black souls lulled her to condemnation. She kept falling. Her fall seemed to have no end. Her body decayed until the only thing that was left was the rotting bones of a corpse. Countless hands of lost souls touched and probed and welcomed her to Hell's embrace. The sickest of thoughts invaded her mind dancing underneath her burning eyelids making her scream into nothingness.

Nothing was left untouched. Nothing was sacred anymore. Her grace was shredded. Her wings broke. Her spirit got tied with heavy burden that kept becoming heavier and heavier the deeper she kept falling into Hell. She could not even begin to explain it. It was as if the divine blessing and responsibility that was placed upon her when she was created was lifted and disappeared and in its place another burden was added. It felt as if she was carrying the weight of damned worlds on her shoulders now. Like Atlas. Only she could not take this kind of weight and was crashed by it.

The fire, the torment, the agony. The darkness and the stabbing pain. As she fell deeper into the pits all sins attacked her and attached on her. The memories of her Pride took life and hurt her. Gluttony and Sloth broke her. Lust burned her loins. Greed and Envy whispered to her ear and Wrath exploded inside her broken heart.

Her broken bones shuttered to dust and her skin burned to ash. She drowned in misery and in the river of lost souls and cried. She became nothing but particles that started forming a new body. Hands touched and probed and strangled her and then her battered and beaten body was thrown to the darkest bowels of the pits where... she forgot. For a moment that stretched to eternity she forgot who she had been. She forgot of Heaven. She forgot her name. She forgot her wings. She forgot the Divine. And then there was nothing. A nothing that kept whipping her soul over and over again.

Until finally her impact to Hell's ground broke even the last remnants of what was left alive inside her. The mud swam around her. Myriads of pins and needles crucified her and Hell swallowed her and spat her out.

Hell's essence defiled her and then there was only blackness. Terrifying unforgiving coldness to compete with the burning fire. The anchor of Klaus' soul mark still rendered her weak and was the only thing that was left thrumming inside her vibrant and strong calling her back to existence. Violently dragging her to her eternal punishment.

When she regained consciousness she realized that she had no senses left. It was the more horrific thing that had ever happened to her. Her Fall robbed her from all her senses until she was trapped in a total void. She could not hear anything, or see anything. Blind and deaf. She could not speak or smell anything and she felt as if the sensation of touch was obliterated. Her muscles did not work and she could not move. Hell had taken everything. Her wings were useless broken appendages limp on her back.

She crawled and cried and begged into the void with no voice and no one to hold onto. She was left broken and all alone in unyielding darkness.

Centuries seemed to pass when the first blurry flicker of light appeared through her fluttering eyelids. And then all she felt was fiery excruciating pain. Slowly sense after sense returned making Caroline scream in agony. She had been skinned alive. Every bloody inch of her was only torment. She though in her endless anguish that two hands lifted her up and cooed her back to a blessed healing sleep. She held on to that voice. To that lullaby. But then it was gone and she was left all alone.

She woke up in pain confined in a very cramped space. Unnaturally small. It was a prison. A cocoon of energy encased the bars and the thorns and Caroline was disoriented for days not understanding why she felt so uncomfortable and was unable to move or stretch or be free. When the fog slowly cleared in her mind she realized with horror that she was locked inside a cage. Inside a suspended cage in air.

It took Caroline some time to realize that this was a replica of an ornate birdcage with a dome top. It was an antique old fashioned gilded cage. It was big enough to contain her but not big enough for her to stand. She had to sit or kneel. It was not wide enough for her to even stretch. She had to keep hunching inside the golden bars. The inside of the bars was covered in thorns. Caroline kept cutting herself and the thorns absorbed her blood that seemed to polish the gold bars of the cage more. Caroline could not sit or press or put weight against the bars at all. It was so exhausting. She could not get comfortable at all. If she tried to move or try to find a way out of this trap the thorns elongated and burned her skin more. She had nothing to cover herself with and at the slightest movement the thorns punished her naked body.

It was an inhuman condition and surely a great humiliation for an angel. No one was there to witness her downfall. This place was hidden from prying eyes and no demon had so far entered her personal Hell. The cage seemed to be suspended in time. Hanging from the blood tree.

No matter where she looked the only thing Caroline saw was endless white. So much white that she could not separate the stones of the ground from the sky above her head. Everything in this vast wasteland was white and Caroline was sick of it. It stung her eyes.

Bright harsh white and the only thing that changed the repeated white pattern of the landscape was the grey naked blood tree that spread its enormous thin branches to the airless void. From one branch the cage she was trapped in was hanging. And inside the pale absence of color that was so jarring to the eye it was the color and the smell of the dripping blood that broke the pallidity.

The only sense of constant motion in this stillness was the pulsating rivulets of blood that was slowly dripping from the branches. It was as if the tree had a life of its own and a heartbeat that thrummed inside the veins of the blood.

Caroline was shivering. Ice was covering almost everything; and the bars of her cage and the thorns inside it were frozen. There was no night or day here. Only white and cold. And even though Caroline had been a creature that used to take flight into the cosmos and the ethers of earth for some reason now this extreme height scared her. Maybe it was because she felt that her wings were useless now. Or maybe it was because beneath the cage there were endless miles and miles that led to a gaping hole underneath the bars of her prison. A hole that reminded her the abyss Klaus had thrown her into. Just looking underneath the bars of the cage was causing her vertigo.

The chasm down on the stone white earth seemed to have no end. Snakes leeched on the openings of the hole that emanated sulfur and the scent of deceased demons. There were also beasts around the chasm and the tree that slowly crawled around the schism. Horrifying beasts that Caroline feared to even stare at for more than seconds despite the fact that they were her only company in this place.

Those naked beasts seemed to be the guardians of the tree and of her cage. They were grotesque monstrous hybrids. Lion snake beasts and crocodile serpents with scorpion tails. They were gigantic. At least twenty feet tall. Their green-glowing terrifying eyes were many times set on her. As if they were observing her. As if they were waiting for her to fall to their fangs. Waiting. Salivating. Ready to tear her to pieces. Caroline was terrified that sooner or later the bars on the floor of the cage would disappear and she would be left in the mercy of those creatures.

Whenever Caroline moved even an inch the beasts below screeched and hissed at her making her ear drums bleed. When Caroline had first tried to get herself free from the ornate golden bird cage she was in the dangling metallic snake-chain that seemed to have a life of its own writhed and lowered the cage closer to the beasts that jumped up and clawed the air ready to devour her and shred her to mangled flesh. It was only when she would still again that the chain, like the tail of a serpent, would curl and would wrap more around the branch of the tree propelling the cage up again. Then the beasts would purr and their paws would drag their claws on the stone.

There were times when howling wind was bursting out from the chasm. A wind that carried the screams of all those unfortunate souls that just like her were being punished in Hell. Caroline would weep then and the cage would dangle in the air making the beasts howl at her again. Much to Caroline's horror those beasts kept copulating with each other over and over again. She had never seen anything like this before and when it happened animalistic growls and wails would reach her ears making her whole body tense and cringe. There also the times where only slurping sounds would be heard as those monsters would lick the blood from the tree.

And then there were the long periods of time where everything was falling silent. The beasts would sleep or would drag their grotesque bodies around the chasm and around the tree silently.

So here she was. Alone, trapped inside a gilded cage like a bird that had its wings caught in a trap. Her only company the snakes and the beasts below and the screams of the tortured.

It took time but eventually her body had healed. She was still in pain but at least the only wounds that remained were the cuts from the thorns of the cage as she kept cutting herself over and over again. Her broken bones had mended at least. Her burns had slowly healed. But nothing compared to the battle that raged on inside her. When she woke up in this place and realized what had happened to her she had cried for hours. She kept remembering the trial and the betrayal of her people and that hurt more than any humiliation or trauma caused to her by Hell and the King of this wretched place.

It was her soul that was tainted and broken and would never heal again. She could feel it. She could feel the sting of the betrayal and Hell's seal over it. She had never felt so much anger and despair in her life before.

Klaus might have restored her inner grace but it felt as if Hell ate it and then spat it out. Caroline felt as if her body was mortal again. Weak. Soft. Fragile. Her muscles ached. Her joints and bones hurt. She felt vulnerable to human emotion and most of all to rage. There was something that kept pulling under her skin. The need to hurt those that hurt her. The need to hurt herself.

She wanted to claw her flesh. She felt restless. She felt unfairly judged. She was undeserving of such horrific fate. She wanted to pull her hair. To bang her head on the bars. Many times she thrashed inside only to have the thorns cut her. Getting cut and having fresh blood pour out of her somehow soothed the rage inside her.

She craved for a moment of peace. To get some peaceful sleep.

She barely slept in this cage and whenever she did horrific nightmares would turn to hallucinations. She would scream and wake up with tears of blood falling from her cheeks. Her labored breathing always brought terrible headaches. Her memories were getting fuzzy and she was becoming confused. The endless white of this place played tricks on her. There were times she thought she was seeing things. Shadows. Darkness. Her limbs were not obeying her. She felt things crawling inside her. She felt hunger and thirst and another need she had never felt before. It was unfamiliar and demanding. It was burning her from the inside out. She felt something she had never felt before deep inside her belly. It was leaving her breathless and made her breasts ache. The place between her legs felt hot and...wet. Like it had never felt before. That alone was bringing shame to her somehow. It made her to want to moan and cry. It was driving her mad.

There was nothing left for her anymore. She was no longer an angel of the Lord. She was no longer free. She was no longer anything than just another beast that belonged to Hell. A beast caged. A memory that would be forgotten by those that betrayed her so easily and with no remorse. This was their fault. She did not deserve this. She did not deserve eternal punishment in this cold God forsaken Hell.

Even her screams had died out. Silence and cold. Her eternity was just beginning.

* * *

Flakes of snow where slowly falling in the endless solidarity. The ethereal snowflakes fell down at the abyss and slid over the bars of her cage. Caroline had managed to sleep despite her uncomfortable position inside the trap she was locked in. Exhaustion had won. The cold spiked her skin and had turned her lips to purple. More so it had invaded her dreams. Her nightmares that seemed more real and more painful than even her fall had been. In the distance she could hear the faint howling that was coming from the abyss below and she could smell the stench that contrasted with the pure freshness of the white frost. Beastly paws were dusting the snow and claws were squeaking over the ice. She did not mind their purring now. It felt like a lullaby.

But then the air seemed to shift. The atmosphere of this bleak wasteland changed. Every molecule of oxygen vibrated and clung against the bars of the cage. The snow melted on the gold glittering bars and fell. It dropped on her. It almost woke her. It felt so cold. So very cold. Like knives stabbing skin. And yet this cold was different. She had never felt anything of that sort in her whole existence. It was unforgiving. Penetrating. Cruel. The frost turned her breath to mist. Her whole body became rigid as if she was turning to ice herself. She was becoming a statue. Nothing would have prepared her for such an unyielding winter. There was nothing like it on Heaven or Earth. It was taking form. It was attacking her. It was peeling of her skin. She could barely even shake. The air had become so cold that it was a new round of torture for Caroline. So cold that the ice seemed to melt to flame. So cold that her skin burned.

She tried to breathe but each attempt was sending nails in her lungs. She tried to move but the thorns broke her skin and her blood turned the snow on the icy bars red. She whimpered and the tear that fell from her eye turned to a drop of ice.

She had to wake up. She was dying. She was mummifying in the snowstorm.

Only it was not a snowstorm. It was presence. She could feel it. She could feel... _him_.

It was as if invisible claws were running up and down the walls of her soul breaking ice into the cracks of darkness that battled the light. Hell had left its mark and now ghost fangs were sucking the life of out of her. Feeding on her blood and soul.

The blur of her sleep faded as the crunchy noise filled her ears. She tried to open her eyelids but they were so heavy; and yet through the burning cold that conquered her vision she could see the black shadow.

The image of a man. A spec of black on top of white. Miles beneath her hovering cage. Standing on the snow just next to the abyss.

The tip of his shoe was lazily shuffling the snow on the ground. Scraping the ice. Snowflakes kept dancing on the air but did not seem to fall on him. His presence was heat and it was melting the snow around him but in the same time everything in this place including her were turning colder and colder as if Klaus was sucking out the heat and the air from this hell hole.

His hands were behind his back, his head titled up. A snake slowly circling him and crawling up his leg like a lover's touch.

His eyes were focused only on her. It was as if darkness flowed all around him.

Immediately Caroline became alert. She woke up and jolted inside the cage hissing as the thorns that bit into her skin. Despite the distance between them she could see him clearly as if he was a breath away from her and she could tell that so could he.

He was dressed. She was naked. He was free. She was caged. He was the ruler of Hell and she was his subject now. An eternity of torture at the hands of the Devil was now just beginning and Caroline wanted to pray for absolution but she did not want to give to the Devil the satisfaction of showing her fear and her weakness.

Klaus was wearing a black long trench coat. Made of wool and leather. Its cut was modern and elegant and somehow gave a more sinister look to the man that wore it. Caroline moved inside her cage despite the fact that she knew it would hurt. The thorns elongated as she drew her knees under her chin and leaned over the bars trying to shield her nudity and degradation from Klaus' prying eyes.

She was not ashamed of a naked body. She was not ashamed of showing her body either. In Heaven the beauty of a body was sacred and praised. But here it felt wrong somehow. Here she felt things she had never felt before. Her body was slowly awakening and she did not want to reveal that awakening to Klaus. So in truth for the first time in her life she was indeed ashamed of the sight of the flesh and of the strange sticky wetness that was running down her thighs.

Klaus eventually turned his attention to his vile beasts. He was patting them almost lovingly and they were purring at his touch. Despite their gigantic bodies they had laid down on the ground and accepted their master's touch and Klaus gazed upon them fondly. He was not disgusted by their grotesque image and most surely he was not afraid of them. He treated them like pets. He was enchanting even the snakes.

"Everyone expects Hell to be a fiery pit but we also have ice," Klaus mentioned in an aloof tone and Caroline winced.

His voice seemed so loud in her ears. The first voice she had heard after her fall. Her ears seemed to still be sensitive. They were not bleeding anymore but the ringing was there and Klaus' voice seemed to irritate her more, "And so many more things you can't even begin to believe could exist in this place," he noted as he waved his hand carelessly.

At his gesture the cage slowly started getting lowered down. The snake chain slowly uncurling from the branch. Caroline flinched when she reached eye level with Klaus. The snakes and the beasts at arm's reach. The chasm just a few meters below.

Despite her pounding heart that now seemed to beat in a different tempo than it used to before she fell to Hell Caroline tried to swallow her fear. Her pride was lost but she would not show him any fear. Not to him and not to his reptilian gargantuan monsters.

Somehow the beasts this time remained calm. Klaus seemed to be controlling his monsters and his disfigured serpents did not attack her cage or even moved at all. They only kept purring. As if Klaus' presence was hypnotizing them. Caroline swore right there and then to never allow Klaus' thrall to put her in a similar trance. Even if she had to fight with the Devil himself she would resist. She had to. She swallowed hard and waited. She waited while she kept eye contact with him which was the most terrifying thing that had happened to her so far. Somehow his eyes seemed to be caging her into a different prison. One that did not have cold and ice in it. Only fire. So much fire. She felt as if she was burning. And she knew from his smirk that he knew it too.

When Klaus' finger slid over one of the bars Caroline felt tendrils of fear spiking her skin as much as the thorns, that seemed to vibrate by Klaus' touch, did.

"Forgive me for the hardly comfortable accommodations," Klaus' fabricated concern made her clench her teeth and she glared at him, "But those bars are meant to also keep you safe for all that duel in the shadows would like to get their teeth in you," he continued with a smile, seemingly enjoying her silent defiance, "Mostly everything that moves and breathes in Hell," he concluded with a satisfied smirk.

Caroline said nothing.

She could tell that her situation was amusing him. Her pain was entertaining him. This was nothing but a joke to him.

"Having an angel in our midst can be quite the temptation for my children and they can hardly control their excitement," Klaus acknowledged nonchalantly and Caroline's eyes turned to slits. Klaus craned his neck to the side. A movement that belonged to a predator. He observed her silence. He observed her naked body inside the golden cage he had put her in.

The silence became overbearing.

"Aren't you one?" Caroline finally broke her silence and Klaus rose an eyebrow in question.

"An Archangel," she daringly clarified knowing that it was not wise to challenge him like that. She knew that the Devil hated her kind. He even hated his own true nature that lay underneath all the sin and evil. He had shed himself from all the names he had before his fall. No one dared to call him an Archangel anymore. No one ever called him the Morning Star. Why was he even given such a name was something Caroline could not wrap her mind around. Klaus was many thing but more so he was the fallen night. There was no light inside him. None. And so maybe he was right to want to bury his old inheritance because aside from his beautiful looks he carried nothing truly angelic in him anymore.

Klaus laughter' echoed in the icy wasteland.

"I see your fall has not broken your spirit sweetheart," he commented in a pleased tone, "As for what I am...you will get to find out in due time," he promised and Caroline drew in a chilly breath.

"In comparison with your wretched kind I promise to only be honest with you," Klaus swore and Caroline's whole body tightened. The beasts crawled around Klaus.

Caroline could not take it anymore. She averted her eyes. She tried not to cry. She did not want to give him that satisfaction either. But her eyes burned and her vision blurred.

"Sweet Caroline. Up close and personal you are far more beautiful than how you looked from afar," Klaus complimented her in a very low voice and Caroline thanked the Divine for the bars that separated her from him right now. She felt something she had never felt before. Something inside her clenched. She did not know what it was. All she knew was that fire was spreading inside her like melted honey. Unknown parts of her body, between her legs, were now throbbing. Her chest became heavy and their ends pointed. What was happening to her? It was maddening and Klaus' soft tone made the ache worse but-

But it was the ache in _his_ words and the way he said what he said that-

"You've been watching me. At the cabin. In the woods. It was you," Caroline realized with a mutter. It was as if a curtain was finally lifted and she could now see clearly. She remembered how there were times when she thought that someone was watching her when Claire... _when Rebekah_...had kept her in that cabin in the woods. There were times she felt a presence.

Stalking her. Following her. A breath of night kissing her steps and shadow. Never far behind. Always monitoring. Always preying. Always there.

Klaus nodded. His dark smile an admission.

"And every other time," Caroline whispered with dread as she remembered that uncanny sensation she could not exactly place whenever she was on earth. She had never told anyone. She believed it to be her imagination. The whisper of the gift that stifled her sanity whenever it brought visions. The angels already believed her to be different. A freak. An outcast of sorts from their ranks. So she remained silent and kept that sensation a secret. She had said to herself that it was probably the way she was meant to feel whenever Heaven was far out of reach and darkened souls circled her on earth. Souls she was meant to save. Souls she had to steal from the _Morning Star_.

"The shadow at the corner of my eye," she breathed out, "Every time I descended to Earth. To heal. To save. It was you."

If humans had guardian angels she had the devil himself.

Klaus slowly bowed. His eyes sparked.

"Always," he admitted and Caroline tried to breathe. She had to breathe. But she could not. She could not breathe. She could not move.

Her broken voice barely got out of her trembling mouth.

"For how long?"

"Nine decades."

Caroline gasped, horror instantly filling her. The Devil himself had set her eyes on her for almost a century.

"Why?" she asked fearing that she did not want to actually hear his answer.

"Such beauty and light. Why ever not?" Klaus shrugged but Caroline pressed her lips tightly.

"Far more beautiful light exists in Heaven and you never traced it. You never brought it to this place. Why me?" she demanded.

Klaus started circling her cage. Walking with slow certain steps. Caroline's eyes followed him. The thorns digging into her skin more at her movement. Klaus' pets purred and followed him obediently as he walked.

"You had already cost me plenty of souls. Many souls. A light angel at that. Not even a warrior one," Klaus snorted and Caroline became angrier at the dismissal in his tone.

She knew she was meant to be a messenger of light but she could not help but cleanse souls whenever she reached out to them. The fact that many of her sisters and brothers thought that she would not be able to do that made her more determined to prove them wrong. Maybe this had been her fatal mistake. Her Pride. And yet the way Klaus' was devaluing her worth as a servant of the Divine made her so angry. So _so_ angry! More so than her brethren ever did.

"And then," he continued not caring at all for her inner turmoil or her obvious pain, "You were such a peculiarity among your kind. A Prophet in Heaven. Have you not wondered back then Caroline. Why? Why you?" he asked knowingly as he stood in front of her again and pushed his hands behind his back. There was mirth in his eyes. As if he knew something she didn't.

It was true though. She had wondered. Everyone had. She rose her eyes to meet Klaus'.

It was that smile on his face that made her insides scream. Why her indeed...unless? Realization dawned. Her lips parted and Klaus beamed at her. Clearly deriving pleasure at sharing his great secret with her. The way he had trapped her into his web. He then gave her a look of faux sympathy. He was still playing her like a puppet on a string.

"Who do you think gave you the gift of prophecy?" he divulged amused lifting an elegant eyebrow.

The thorns tore her palms apart. She did not care.

"You?" she stammered, "How is that even possible?"

"I am my mother's son sweetheart," Klaus' sarcasm was bitter.

Esther. The Original witch. The First. To unbind the laws of Heaven.

"Quite a legacy those spells she left behind," Klaus mocked, "Can come quite handy and not even my brother can trace them back at me should I not wish it so. Makes you wonder what else I have sneaked into Heaven doesn't it?", Klaus winked at her but Caroline's head was spinning. This could not be happening.

"One of the souls you took from me had a little something to pass on to you," Klaus carried on without mercy, "I had been watching you for quite some time. You had a pattern. I knew which souls attracted you and how. I already knew you would not be able to deny cleansing a soul that was half way in Heaven, half way in Hell. Especially if it lured you in with a singing prayer. All I had to do was grant that gift to that soul. It was dormant. In hibernation waiting for you. So I made sure that when you would use your light on that soul it would infect you in the moment of your connection. After that I simply took a step back and waited," Klaus explained and finally the first tears fell on her cheeks. Falling down on snow and on the abyss.

Klaus had the audacity to watch her sympathetically. As if he actually cared.

Infect her he said. It was not a gift. It was a sickness. A virus. To pass undetected the gates of Heaven. Not even Elijah traced its true origins. She had not been a false prophet either. Whatever spell Klaus had used was an intricate brand that replicated a true link to the Divine. Only it had never been one. It had been a disease.

"This was all you?" he voice trembled and so did she. She felt lightheaded. She bled more, the thorns digging in his aching skin. Her fall had not been an accident nor her fault. It was orchestrated. By him.

"No love. I only gave you a gift. What you did with it was all you," Klaus said and Caroline shook her head wildly. For the first time. The very first time in her life she felt _...hate._ It was so foreign and so cataclysmic.

"You manipulated me," she yelled and Klaus' beasts growled at her ready to attack but Klaus soothed them with a cooing whisper. Her anger did not seem to affect him in the slightest. " _Everyone,"_ Caroline's voice broke as understanding dawned on her and image after image from the trial appeared before her eyes again.

"So the Devil made you sin? Is that it?" Klaus asked her, his gaze challenging. His sardonic voice a whip on her sensitive soul.

Caroline gripped the bars hard not caring for the blood that fed the thorns more. She wanted this to end. She wanted to go home. God, she wanted to go back home.

"I waited," Klaus confessed, "The more souls you infused with light after that the more you were getting corrupted by power. The more you got drunk with the power _my gift_ gave you the more you used it. The more you bent the rules. It was only a matter of time for you to finally break them. All I had to do was wait. And then claim you," he drawled.

"You see Caroline," her name a caress on his lips "you thought you were serving your Divine Lord when you were serving... me. All along," he provoked her.

"Why? _Why me?"_ Caroline's despair ricocheted between them.

Klaus took one more step closer. Just an inch away from the bars. Just a breath away from her.

"Why you?" he repeated and the breath that escaped his lips warmed her fingers that were wrapped around the bars. Her skin tingled. "In a few decades you had cost me a lot of souls; More souls than much older than you angels had cost me in centuries. You intrigued me. You gained my interest and of course I could not allow you to continue lay claim to what belonged to me," he purred and his finger traced her grip around one of the bars.

Immediately Caroline retrieved her hands and pushed herself back inside her cage. Her grimace was one of disgust and pain as the thorns now sliced her back and her thighs. She wrapped her hands around her breasts as she cowered away from his touch. From him. She knew that should he want to she would not stand a chance against him but she could not tolerate his touch. Not after what he revealed to her. She hated him. And yet that ache in her body continued to burn. A fire that got more ignited when his flesh touched hers. A spark. An ember. And now flames were licking her oversensitive broken skin and she felt slick and wet in places that she was ashamed to name.

Klaus titled his head to the side giving her a knowing look.

"As to why?" Klaus casually continued as if her reaction to his touch did not offend him, "Trapping an angel in Hell is a great humiliation for your kind and shows my true power. You lot thrived because I allowed it. I can have any of you any time I want. You are not so different from me. Your virtue is a façade."

"That is not true!" Caroline passionately denied and flinched when Klaus laughed.

"Is it not? Every virtuous angel deemed you guilty and to belong to hell," he reminded her and Caroline cast her eyes down to the void underneath her. A void ready to swallow her.

"And here you are," Klaus droned, "Not just because of what _you_ did," he intoned making sure to also remind her her own fault and blame, "But because of what they did too. They cast you aside. Their virtue of forgiveness and camaraderie nothing but an illusion. Just like yours. So here you are indeed."

His words hurt more so than she would ever admit. This was not true. He was twisting everything. She held herself tighter. Even though Klaus's words had some truth in them she still missed her brothers and her sisters no matter what they did. No matter what she did. She wanted to see them again. She wanted to hug them again and be lost in their safe arms and their grace. She wanted to see Heaven again. She wanted to go home. Being trapped like an animal inside a cage was not what she deserved. All she had wanted to do was help people. Save souls. Why was she punished so hard? She just wanted to go home.

Klaus sighed as if he had read her thoughts.

"However I see that I have not been the most gracious host. I have mistreated you. I am sorry for that but it has been quite some time since I had such an honorable guest in my domain. My hospitality manners have been quite rusty I am afraid," Klaus taunted her and Caroline glowered at him through the bars. His mockery was an added torture. One that took away her nostalgia for home and replaced it with hot burning anger.

A wicked smile split Klaus' face in reaction to her blazing anger.

"Let me acquit myself sweetheart by taking you away from this dreadful place," he offered and Caroline swallowed hard.

Klaus' gaze turned soft but Caroline could feel the electric lie beneath it. Suspicion filled her whole and she stiffened.

"Come on love. Don't you want to get out of this bleak horrible wasteland?" Klaus enticed her, his hand gesturing over the windless frost that surrounded them. The blood of the tree throbbed at his gesture and some of his beasts slurped it from the bark making Caroline's body clench with nervousness.

Klaus' voice became low. Quiet. Soothing.

"Wouldn't you like to go somewhere a bit warmer?"

Caroline hated to think what 'warm' in Hell meant. She remained expressionless and Klaus sighed.

"Unless you want to be left here for the next decades. Maybe get better and closer acquainted with my pets. Although I am afraid starvation will be quite excruciating after the first century or so," the Devil warned her and her heart pounded as his 'pets' purred and growled.

Caroline bit her lip. Her mind racing. She wanting nothing more than to get out of here but she did not trust Klaus.

"Should we leave this place?" Klaus proposed again and she stared at him.

Their staring match continued but she hesitated.

"Should I leave this wilderness without you I shall leave you to the mercy of the tree," Klaus' tone now had an edge. He was becoming annoyed, "I won't return for at least a century. Maybe more," he threatened and Caroline looked pleadingly at him.

Klaus arched a brow at her.

"So what you say love? How about you join me instead and let me take you away from here?" he pressed and her frown was thoughtful before she shook her head refusing him.

An angry gleam passed through his eyes at her refusal but then calmness settled over again. More chilling than his anger.

He bowed down accepting her refusal easily which surprised Caroline.

"As you wish," he relented.

Darkness bursting with embers flared around Klaus. The beasts started growling and screeching, their claws too close to her cage ready to cut her to pieces. The bars of her cage rattling as her prison swayed on harsh wind. Klaus was slowly vanishing from sight. He would leave her here. For centuries. To the mercy of his monsters. To the thorns. To the wilderness. Caged. Alone.

She would be left _alone_.

"Wait," she called after him just before the dark shadows blended with the whiteness. Just before he would vanish. She could not stay in this place any longer. She could not be left all alone here.

The darkness stilled and Klaus stepped out of the momentarily dissipating shadows.

"Have you changed your mind sweetheart?"

She knew that his voice promised nothing good but still, despite all logic, she found herself meekly nodding. The slow smile that curved his lips was a bad omen but Caroline had already fallen to his trap and Klaus' shadows swirled around the cage. Wind roared as darkness engulfed her and the whisper of the thorns against her skin this time put her to a restful soothing sleep.

* * *

Caroline grimaced when she woke up and groaned in pain. The thorns were cutting her again. She jolted up recalling Klaus' visit to the blood tree and her abrupt movement made her hit the bars of the cage. She tried not to make a sound when pain assaulted her body. She realized that she was still in the bird cage.

Klaus kept his promise and took her from that bleak wasteland but now she was covered in darkness. At least she was not cold. There was no sound. Nothing to indicate another presence and that was unsettling. What was she thinking accepting Klaus' offer like that?

Truth was that when it came to him no matter what she chose in the end this was a lose lose situation for her.

This silence and darkness however could not mean anything good.

Something was covering the cage. From the looks of it a sort of fabric. Caroline could not touch it to see what it was since every time she was even trying to move her fingers even an inch outside the bar the thorns grew wild and cut her. She looked down. The cage was placed on a floor. Where had Klaus taken her?

Her fear peaked when she felt the earth shifting. Darkness and smoke was wafting around the thorns of the cage and it was moving it with her inside it. Her blood dribbled on the thorns and she bit her lip but when the cage landed with force on the ground she could not help but moan in pain as her skin got torn in various places.

She stilled and stopped breathing when hushed laughter followed her moan of pain. She was not alone anymore. The heavy fabric was still thrown over the cage bathing her world in darkness but she could feel the presence of others surrounding her. She started panicking.

She did not feel cold but the air smelled different. She smelled... roast meat. And perfume. She heard whispering and steps coming closer.

The minutes passed by and she jumped up in the cage when she heard the loud sound of drums and laughter and clapping. Her heart pounded in her chest before the laughter died out. Her sensitive ears hurt. The drums continued. A sound to accompany a victory march. One that made her heart flatter with terror.

She was becoming increasingly more and more scared. Sweat slicked down with the drops of blood. What was she thinking going out and making any kind of deals with the King of Hell? How could she have been so stupid? Her pain and fear had dulled he logic.

The drums faded and Caroline held her breath when she heard steps coming closer and closer.

"Make way for the first Prince of Hell," a shrill inhuman voice yelled and Caroline heard commotion. As if a crowd was indeed parting to make way for someone to walk. And the steps approached more until Caroline realized that someone was standing next to the cage but she could see nothing.

"Ladies and gentlemen."

Caroline stiffened. She knew that voice. That voice had announced the verdict of Hell. That voice had accused her in the trial and condemned her to Hell.

 _Marcellus_.

Marcellus, the Supreme Magistrate of the Tribunal Satanica, that was just announced as the first Prince of Hell.

"Bow to your King!." Marcellus ordered.

There was silence before she heard deafening clapping. So much that the ground she was on shook. Caroline covered her ears with her hands.

And then silence again. It was as if time stopped.

"No need for making such fuss in my name," a voice jested and everyone laughed.

Not just a voice. _Klaus_. The King of Hell.

Caroline could have sworn that hundreds of people laughed if not more. Where had Klaus taken her?

Just then the red velvet veil that was thrown over the birdcage enveloping her in darkness was ripped away.

Klaus was standing next to the cage and with one theatrical move he had pulled the luxurious red as blood velvet cloak that was covering her gold cage...and her.

When Caroline's vision adjusted from the total darkness to the light she gaped.

She was in the very center of a mammoth throne room made from obsidian and gold. Caroline's breath got caught in her throat. She was in Hell's very heart. This enormous place was sin even in its structure. So much luxury was sinful. There were domed ceilings made from gold with dark paintings depicting victorious demons and the fall of angels. Paintings that writhed in darkness as their grand luscious drawings moved and rippled.

Polished floors and lash red carpets. Jaded red and black marble and gold. So much gold and diamonds.

More darkness prevailed than light Caroline realized. In the architecture and the artworks and the place itself.

Fires were cast and flowing out of cauldrons. Millions of candles on the endless gold and diamond chandeliers reflected their shine on the walls, the mirrors, the gargantuan sculptures, the stained crystal windows and the floors.

There were pillars leading up to the tall domed ceilings that were are so high that they seemed unreachable.

Demons were flying beneath the paintings that were drawn on the ceilings with shapes that were moving like breathing shadows. Even the sculptures were moving slowly as if they were alive.

Weapons were everywhere. On the walls, on the tables, on the floors. Fires were raging. Some even on circles on the floors.

There were many seats and pillows. Long tables. Endless food and wine. Fountains with running blood. Drums and lyres and other musical organs.

 _Demons._

God! There were thousand upon thousand demons stacked in the throne room. All of them bent on the knee. Even those that were flying above had suspended their bodies midair and bowed.

Her cage was placed in the middle of the throne room. Klaus was standing next to it looking at her with a sinister smile as she was taking everything in. She was in shock and he was looking..proud.

Three steps behind him Marcellus and his retinue were bowing. They were not kneeling like mostly everyone else but they kept their heads bowed and were hunching their backs. Some other demons close to the dais were not kneeling either.

"Rise," Klaus gestured and it was as if movement burst again in the throne room. Movement and sound.

Everyone was watching her. Every demon human or beastly looking was gawking at her with glee. There were far more than those that had attended her trial. Some of them wore lush garments. Others were skimpily clothed. Others wore warrior leathers. While others were nude. Some of them had wings and others did not. Some of them looked human and others like monsters taken from the most horrific nightmares. And all of them were gazing at the cage. Caroline tried to cover her naked body as much as she could and laughter ensued. Caroline felt panic and humiliation but more so when Klaus pointed at her with wicked satisfaction.

Klaus let his finger trail over one of the golden bars of the dome top of the cage and Caroline cringed. The thorns grew. The King of Hell then snapped his fingers and her wings sprouted out from her back without her consent. She writhed in so much pain as her eyes widened in terror. She did not understand how that was even possible. For Klaus to command her wings to appear. She thought she had lost them. That Hell burned them. But her white bright feathers now twitched behind her body and got trapped between the bars. Her wings were flattering painfully. They got bent and trapped between the bars of the cage and the thorns sank into them making her scream.

Everyone in the throne room was in awe at the brightness of her wings. So bright that it almost blinded many before they dared to look at them again as Klaus manipulated them and forced them to tangle around and between the bars and the thorns of the cage. Caroline could not move her wings or her body anymore. The pain was taking away her breath. She looked at Klaus pleadingly but he did not seem to care. One more scream of pain escaped her lips when the thorns became vines around her wings, impaling them, and Marcellus shouted pleased and everyone clapped excited and yelled.

"Let us commence the evening by relishing at the sight of Hell's greatest trophy," Klaus cheered in a booming voice and everyone clapped and roared, "Drink. Celebrate. Hell has its own angel now!"

Caroline felt as if she was going to throw up. Her body was trembling.

Her wings were twitching endlessly. Blood tainted them. She was unable to untangle them from the vines.

Klaus walked away and Marcel cast an amused gaze at her before he followed his master. Demons started circling the cage. Pointing fingers at her. Watching. Laughing. Spiting at the cage and making vulgar gestures. She was like those animals human kept in their zoos.

Caroline watched as Klaus reached the elevated dais that oversaw all the throne room. A massive throne made of onyx was placed there. Sculpted monster shapes and wings were surrounding it and the throne seemed to whisper. Darkness was trying to swallow it. Smoke was rising around it.

Klaus sat to his throne watching the spectacle of her degradation from above.

Caroline despite all the crowed that had gathered around the cage saw Klaus beckoning to Marcellus. The Prince of Hell approached the throne where Klaus now sat nonchalantly and leaned over. Whatever the King of Hell whispered to Marcellus made the demon smirk. What was worse was that they were both looking at her from afar.

Marcellus then went and talked to some demons and pointed at her cage. Caroline shivered in fear. Klaus seemed to be enjoying himself as two female concubines dressed in gossamer and golden belts with coins that did not cover their nudity offered him wine.

Klaus seemed to be watching only at her though.

He was watching when his demons came and wrapped their tails around the big ring hook on the top of the cage's dome. They spread their decaying wings and Caroline yelped as they lifted the cage and took it with them. Higher and higher far away from the crowd and towards the ceiling.

Out of fear Caroline tried to hold on from the bars and the thorns sank into her palms wounding her. As the cage was soaring Caroline covered her mouth with one bleeding palm. She could see the whole throne room from above and-

There were chained tortured people and demons chained on the walls and on shackles that hung from the ceilings. It was horrific. Their body were defiled and mangled. Caroline saw more things that tainted her soul forever and closed her eyes. She prayed. She prayed without voice. For what she did not know. All she knew was that this was the most horrific thing she had seen and even though she knew that her heart should ache for those in pain more she was selfishly terrified that she would be next. That she would end shackled on those chains and the demons would rape and feast on her next.

The demons that now were carrying her cage connected it to the hook of a long chain that was already hanging from one of the chandeliers of the ceiling just in the middle of the throne room.

Caroline opened her eyes again and saw that her cage was now hanging from the ceiling with the majestic and horrifying paintings that were writhing above her in darkness.

Endless candles were lit on the chandelier above her giving more light to the shadows above and casting their brightness on her.

She realized that the spotlight was on her and she felt as if she wanted to hide but there was nowhere to go. She could barely move. Her wings were trapped. She was trapped. Her body was naked and on display. The thorns kept licking her wounds.

Klaus was making a spectacle out of her degradation and torture and was enjoying this from his throne.

The cage hang from the throne room's ceiling as it had from the blood tree and just as everyone clapped at her for becoming their entertainment for the evening Caroline realized that she should have never taken Klaus upon his offer. She should have chosen the solitude of the wasteland she had been stranded in after her fall. That place and its beasts now seemed merciful in comparison to this horror.

* * *

The celebrations carried on endlessly in a constant frenzy. It was a victory party after all. Most of the Royal Blood of Hell had come tonight to pay tribute to their King and enjoy the sight of the Fallen Angel. A spectacle Klaus was freely offering to them in the way they wanted.

He had even dressed for the occasion. The black, gold trimmed, cloak was heavy on his back as was the obsidian diadem he wore on his head. Underneath the cloak he was wearing royal finery accented with gold and silver. His belt, his boots, his gloves all made from leather and black platinum. The insignia that was holding the cloak on place, in the shape of the wolf, was the only thing aside from the crown on his head that carried the crimson color of blood in its diamond details.

Tonight he was attending the celebrations following the proper and formal decorum. It was meant to be a special day after all. So he wore his smile as he presented Caroline to his court and allowed everything to unfold from there despite the fact that he wanted to be done with that charade.

Klaus was watching with unimpressed eyes the demons, both male and female, that danced in front of his throne. They were trying to entice him and entertain him to no avail.

He was bored. He sat on his throne with his elbow bent on the armrest swirling the blood inside his goblet. The festivities were reaching their zenith now but it was not something he had not seen countless times during his long immortal life.

He watched at the brightness above. Light was cascading down from Caroline's wings. In ripples. It was strong enough to illuminate the whole throne room. Most demons found it toxic and preferred to hid in the shadows and watch Hell's newest prize from afar. The strongest ones however seemed to be drawn to it. Enough to fly in circles around the cage like moths to a flame. The gold bars were keeping them away from the angel.

Darkness answered the call of light and rose around him as he felt restless. He noticed with a snort how his concubines faltered before they resumed their dancing and mating at the steps of the dais. His demons knew better than to come near him when darkness swirled around the throne.

He was not in the mood for playing with any of them tonight. All this nonstop celebration was grating. All Hell was celebrating Caroline's fall and most of all they were relishing in the way the Angels retreated and bowed to their power in the trial. To _his_ power. It was _his_ victory and everyone knew it.

Klaus rested his head on his palm. Nothing of this debauchery moved him. Thousands of years of existence and everything blended together. Nothing mattered. Nothing excited him anymore. Nothing happened that he didn't know or have seen, done or experienced before. Endless times.

In the past he would have gotten high by this depravity. He had created it after all. He had created his demons and then let them loose in Hell and the world. This little carousel of deprived and immoral self indulgence was his personal Heaven once upon a time.

Now he knew that it was a hollow pleasure. It was pointless. Mindless.

Mindless as were all those that celebrated Caroline's fall as if it was their own achievement when they did not even understand that in his little chess game their worth was far less than hers.

He looked at the cage that hung from the ceiling. He noticed that Caroline's tears had dried. He smiled at that. He had felt her fear and her panic. Her shame and her horror and for a moment had fed on those emotions. It was euphoric to be able to feel what she felt. All that rainbow of emotions. All that humanity locked inside an angelic soul.

But there was more than just ivory paleness and weakness in her. She was forged by something stronger than steel.

Even now sweet Caroline despite her predicament refused to allow them to see her cry.

Now _that_ had been...a surprise. Something he had not felt in centuries.

Her dignity was something that shown brighter than her wings.

That alone was not only impressive but was underlining how much of a hollow victory this was. An empty win. Treating Caroline like this was bringing him no pleasure. He had done worse during his reign, excessively so, and she would have to walk down her own path of suffering but this was not what he had in mind or truly in store for her.

Oh no. He had great plans for his little angel. Plans he could not wait to set in motion.

Alas for now he had to keep up the appearances. He could not afford to appear as a weak or a compassionate ruler.

He surely was not.

But despite his responsibilities to his people he was finding no pleasure at this charade either. The nuances of the true torture of one's soul did not lie to these flashy superficial games.

Nonetheless his demons had to enjoy themselves and relish in the angel's degradation. At least in these trivial ways. It would appease the factions in Hell and they would have their fun. They already despised angels despite the fact that they knew that Archangel blood was running into the veins of their ruler.

In Caroline right now everyone was seeing the opportunity to spat at all that was bright and Holy and Angelic. To show their superiority and to celebrate their victory over those that frowned upon them and saw them as nothing but abominations.

Klaus drank the blood from the goblet slowly and licked his stained lips appreciatively. His eyes travelling over the curves of Caroline's naked beauty. At the enticing blood that was running over her wings and cuts like paint. He could not wait to have her. To taste her blood. Her lips. To fuck her. To ravish every inch of hers and have her writhe in pleasure underneath him. He could not wait to have those beautiful lips wrapped around his cock that was now stirring painful just at her sight.

He stared at the gold and the light that surrounded her. A beautiful white dove caught in rose thorns. Bleeding in the trap ready to spread its wings wide open but unable to fly again. Caught in the dark web with vultures looming closer.

A travesty to the eyes of the virtuous but a sin that inspired him like nothing else had for centuries. In was making his blood coursing in his veins ignite with desire and he felt the need to paint again. Something he had not done in decades. Tonight after all this he would. He would paint this vision and would store it among his treasures as he would forever store Caroline herself in his collection.

At least this silly exposition was not coming without any gain.

Yes, he needed Caroline for his plan and he had to work with her and for that he also needed time and to be left alone with her and isolate her from prying eyes.

However for now this would send a message.

The news of her treatment in the Underworld would definitely reach Elijah's ears... and not just Elijah's. Soon the rumors would spread. Fear would be planted in the angels and along with it seeds of regret and guilt. Seeds that would bloom to anger. He would make sure of it. Every angel would learn of Caroline's penance and they would be horrified by her unjust fate and by her trials in Hell. Something that could happen to anyone of them since their justice could be so easily manipulated. Truths and lies would circulate and that would be the beginning of the end.

There was still a long way to go for completing his plan and Caroline was an essential part of it but for now it was indeed necessary to keep up the appearances. Caroline's punishment and her suffering in Hell would have to echo to Heaven.

Klaus' thoughts came to an abrupt end as he narrowed his eyes at the sight of a particular aggressive group of demons that always liked to break the rules despite the consequences. They were of noble birth and they believed they were above his command. And even though usually their bravado and cruelty were amusing and he was allowing much of their behavior to slide tonight he was not about to let their insolence slide.

Probably because he could already tell that they planned to attack the cage. Klaus himself had infused the bars of Caroline's cage with his aura and no one but him could get past their magic but that didn't mean that he would allow anyone to torment Caroline more than the extent he allowed for tonight.

He dismissed the concubines and snapped his fingers.

Not even a fraction of a second later Marcel had materialized next to his throne.

"My Lord," he bowed respectfully at his side.

Klaus pointed his glass towards the cage.

"I want you to bring me the head of anyone aiming to physically harm the angel. Even by having the slightest intentions of making a move. I do not want to see anything than _harmless_ fun tonight _Marcellus_ ," he warned his Prince by using his birth name and Marcel's eyes shone.

"Of course my Liege," he said, his tone adamant.

Klaus smiled and gave his son a pointed look.

"Fail me and I'll have your head instead," he casually served his threat in a complimentary tone, seeing Marcel blanching momentarily, before he smiled widely.

Marcel nodded at him with respect and took his leave.

Klaus turned his attention back to the cage. Back to his Caroline.

* * *

The angels were weeping.

This was what Caroline sorrowfully saw in the paintings that depicted the massacre of her kind endlessly above the cage that entrapped her. In their agonized faces painted on the inside of the domes Caroline sought shelter. It was the closest feel she could get from home.

She had lost the meaning of time. It was as if her perception of time was damaged. Hours, days, months. It seemed endless.

The cage was still hanging from the ceiling as the endless horrors raged around and underneath it. The paintings above her head kept moving. The chandelier was casting so much light over her that she felt as if her skin was slowly getting roasted. Candle wax was falling down on her burning her flesh and mixed with her blood that kept feeding the thorns.

She was in pain. Mentally and physically but nothing compared with the humiliation she was forced to endure. She was so ashamed. She had brought her knees under her chin and had hugged herself trying to shrink into something smaller. Her wings ached and their light was making the darkness that was swirling around the bars and the cage seem as if it was blending its night with starlight.

No matter where Caroline looked she saw only depravity. Things that she had never even heard of thought possible before.

Orgies. Sexual dancing in a frenzy. Debauchery and torture. And the sound of the drums was rising higher and higher becoming louder with every passing moment. Her head was about to explode. Her ears were ringing.

Caroline hated the way these monsters looked at her. How they delighted at watching her naked and helpless and subdued. How they laughed and moaned at her vulnerable sight. Most demons, either they were monstrous or unbelievably beautiful were flaunting their nakedness in ways that made her cringe and scared her. She was feeling shame for the first time in her life. It was lewd and dirty and they were making her feel that way too.

In the gardens of Heaven the angels wore no clothes either but there was nothing sexual there. It was the beauty of creation. Here it was degrading. Sexualized. Meant for humiliation and it burned her heart and soul. It was torture.

But none was worse than the actual torture these monsters were inflicting on others. Caroline had sworn not to cry but tears had fallen endlessly tonight from her eyes much to the loud satisfaction of the demons that pointed at her suffering and chuckled without understanding that she was not crying because of what was happening to her. Not only to her anyway.

Her tears were tears of mourning. For all the victims. And even for all of them that were unable to feel the pain of others and caused so much agony. Caroline had watched with horror as demons kept feasting on mangled bodies of humans they had dragged in Hell. Others tortured or even rape those humans and the screams were so loud that Caroline wondered how no one had been hearing them in Heaven. It was horrifying. Some victims were half dead humans. Some were ghostly shades of souls. Some were even demons.

Caroline could hear the screeching of tortured souls among the drums. They were making her ears bleed.

She was the main attraction of course but that did not stop the carnage that was happening beneath the cage. People were being whipped and burned. Their blood was sucked from their veins as demons fed on them. As the hours passed the celebration was heating up. In despicable ways that horrified Caroline and tainted her heart forever. She saw things she had never seen or even heard before. She threw up so many times and cried for those that ached and broke.

Demons were licking bones and skulls. Human bones. Even bones of children and infants. Some still even had meat and blood on them and it made Caroline sick.

Smoke was coming out of the fires in the cauldrons and it was creating so much heat that it was impossible to not sweat and even more so it was difficult to breathe. The smoke made Caroline dizzy but it seemed to be making the demons more frenzied and wild. They danced and had sex like animals and were torturing others.

The drums kept beating and beating and beating. It felt like a paganistic ritualistic sound rather than actual music. The demons danced on it. Although dance was not exactly the right word to describe what they were doing. They kept bouncing up and down and swirling and shaking their bodies with mania. They twisted in endless chains of limbs and all of them rotated round and round tirelessly.

Their desire seemed to become more ignited as they feasted on the food and the wine that kept flowing. They ate raw flesh and gulped blood from the fountains. They seemed to be inhaling and digesting smoke from leaves they were burning in the fires. The scent was rising and making her so hot and dizzy.

All of them seemed to be celebrating...her.

She was Hell's prisoner. Their trophy. One more soul to torture. The cage was keeping them at bay but Caroline was afraid that this would not last. They would come for her and would torture her like they were doing with those poor humans and souls they had at their mercy.

There were demons that kept their distance but were others that were drawn to the cage. Her panic was overwhelming.

The demons that had decaying wings were flying next to the cage shaking it and swaying it back and forth. They poked her wings with black feathers in awe making them twitch more violently causing her pain. They watched her as if they had never seen something like her from so close before and then they were shaking the chandelier and the chain from which the cage was hanging.

Caroline was clenching her eyes shut and was hanging her body tighter. The more the cage dangled the more the thorns scratched her even though now with her wings exposed she healed almost immediately.

As everything in this celebration was becoming more and more violent more demons were daring to fly at the ceiling. Daring to jump on her cage and swing it from the chain to the right and left as if it was a swing. She was unable to even scream out of her fear. Reptilian winged creatures and males gripped the bars and rubbed themselves on the cage. They licked the bars and moaned and touched themselves much to her mortification.

They were spiting at her and telling her all the things they wanted to do to her. The things they _would_ do to her. Memories from when that crowd of demons had taken her to the abyss at the end of the trial emerged again in her mind. They wanted to destroy her. To break her. Back then and now. They took pleasure from her pain.

Caroline realized how much those creatures hated her kind. She felt as if the bars that caged her in and made her bleed were the only thing that kept her safe from those soulless beasts. A false sense of security but still she preferred to be inside the cage than be given to those monsters.

And she feared that one day Klaus would do that to her too. He would torture her himself and would throw her to his demons to have their fun too. She had no idea how she was going to survive this and her immortality, now a forever dedicated to Hell and punishment, was a dreaded curse and no longer a blessing from the Heavens.

A scream was wretched out of her mouth when the cage shook so much that she feared it would fall and send her crashing down. The thorns from the bars had become a tangled mess of vines around her now.

Caroline was about to faint when she heard a chilling roar and the darkness around her cage exploded. The demons flew away, their wings burning, their screams deafening. Swords clashed but her vision was blurred. When the thorns slowly released her body she finally breathed again. Her wings flattered in anguish. Her healing restored again.

Caroline saw some commotion between the demons and a few demon heads put on spikes.

After that no one dared to shake her cage again and those that were brave enough to fly close to the cage kept a safe distance.

Instead of shaking the cage however they decided to humiliate her and torture her in different disgusting ways. Ways meant to debase and humiliate her and take away all of her pride and dignity. She was trying to remind herself that this was not something they could take from her but this horror was breaking her down piece by piece.

Every whisper and shouting profanity aimed at her was obscene and turned her blood to ice even at the idea of them doing those things they promised to do to her. Every vulgar gesture, every mockery, every laughter was painful.

They were throwing wine and blood on her and she was trying to shut her mouth and nose and was trying to not even breathe in even a drop. She did not know what demon blood and wine brewed in Hell's fire could do to her. But she was also so thirsty and hungry and her whole body clenched at the idea of gulping down anything to sooth those needs but she refused to surrender to that pain and weakness. She had to remain strong. She did not know why she felt that way. It was not as if she would ever leave that place and even if she ever managed to escape she would be hunted for all eternity and the doors of Heaven would not give her sanctuary ever again. Klaus would hunt her down to the ends of the universe. Of every universe. She knew that as she also knew that even those thoughts were nothing but dreams. She was not going anywhere was she? She was caged and Klaus had turned her to Hell's circus freak. For everyone to gaze upon and abuse. Her tears got mixed with the crimson color of the wine that was pouring down on her naked body and trapped wings.

The worse part of it all was that throughout all this horrific ordeal the gaze of the King of Hell was always directed on her. Klaus was keeping his eyes on her. Slowly taking her in. His heated hungry stare a brand. Another promise. Another evil. Far more terrifying than anything else.

And when their gazes locked from the distance she understood what misery truly was and how it felt. There was no escape. No hope. There was nothing left. Only those eyes that stared her back.

She was in hell.


	4. Veritas Lux Mea

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 **A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night**

Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.

* * *

 **Additional Warnings for this story:**

No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.

Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.

* * *

 **Chapter IV:** **Veritas Lux Mea**

x

"They say that the loveliest angels make the cruelest demons  
and my darling, you were so kind and beautiful  
before they dragged you to hell "

― Unknown

* * *

Caroline didn't know what was worse. Being asleep or being awake. There was not even a moment of peace. Inside the thorn bird cage reality was becoming more and more distorted. Nightmares tormented her. Horrific dreams of terror. She was being torn apart in those dreams by beasts and demons and even the Devil himself. Unspeakable acts were happening to her. Spiders were crawling all over her, insects were biting and eating her flesh and then the pain was carrying on from her dreams to her waking hours. What was worse was when she was dreaming of Heaven and of her kin only to wake up in the cage in Hell.

She had lost all sense of time. She didn't know how long she slept or if she was even awake most of the times. She had lost count of how long it had been seen her fall. Days? Years? Centuries? More? Less?

Time did not exist. And when it did it was when she was put on display in the throne room every night while the demons celebrated and feasted. Sometimes even on days and nights non-stop.

Klaus had kept his word. He had taken away from that freezing wasteland and the blood tree. Whenever she was not in the throne room her cage was left at the bottom of a dark, seemingly bottomless well. Whenever she looked up she could barely see any light coming from above since she was miles and miles underground. If not more. Her eyes could barely adjust to this darkness. Before her fall whenever she was alone in the dark she would ignite her own light or her wings would glow and illuminate this place but...Her wings were gone. Klaus only summoned them in the throne room and whenever she tried to do the same herself in the cage she failed to do so. He had even stole even that part from her. Along with everything else.

Caroline felt claustrophobic inside the well. The gold cage was always left at the mud floor with the spider webs that seemed to throb with whatever was breeding inside them.

At first it was terrifying but as time passed Caroline realized that at least she preferred the solitude of the well than the horror of being Hell's circus act in Klaus' throne room.

At least here no one saw her degradation and misery. No one taunted her. She was alone. Cold and lost in darkness but alone.

She had been afraid of being alone in the past and yet now she welcomed that feeling.

The only thing she truly hated when she was in the well was the slime and the drops of muddy water that were constantly falling on her head. It was driving her mad. It was not allowing her even a moment of peace. Worms and running steaming dirty waters were sprinkling down the walls of the well.

Caroline could also hear the screeching of insects and what she hoped to be mice close to the cage but thankfully nothing ever approached or was able to get into the cage.

Caroline sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her head. She was covered from head to toe with slime and mud. Her whole body was aching and was dirty with everything that stuck on her skin from the well and from whatever was thrown at her in the throne room every night by the demons that flew close to her hanging cage.

She had never felt so disgusting and appalled in her whole life and she missed her home more than ever. She missed bathing in the Holy Waters of Heaven. She missed rain on Earth. She missed the people she loved. The people she thought that had once loved her.

What she missed more was who she used to be. She used to help people. She used to heal them. She used to share the light of Heaven with the mortals and with her brethren in Heaven. Now that was gone. She had no purpose. No existence. She was losing her sense of self and most of all her faith. Her body had turned to something that craved things she could not name. But her soul was losing far more. Hell's mark weighted so heaving upon her spirit. The Divine seemed to be out of reach.

Caroline leaned her head over the thorn bars and tried to remember the old prayers and hymns she used to sing with Bonnie and Elena. But her mind was so confused. Her memories were so tainted. She could not even remember the words or the rhythm anymore.

"Forgive me Father," she cried and brought her knees under her chin as her body shook and the thorns elongated and fed on her blood.

As the words left her chapped lips she blinked at the light that enveloped her. The thorns retreated and the bars of the cage shimmered before they dissolved from all around her. Light and smoke carried her away and her wings grew on her back and expanded. Free and without anything holding them back. They sprawled on the warm air and Caroline stumbled back.

She was out of the cage. She was not in the well or in the throne room. She gasped when she realized she was free. She was able to stand and her feet were touching something soft. A plush carpet. Caroline's eyes fluttered close. She felt so disoriented. Was this another dream?

It felt so real. She looked down at herself. She was naked but she was clean. Her skin was unblemished. The scratches from the thorns were gone and with them so was the dirt that had stuck on her body for all this time. She touched her hair with trembling fingers. They were not a muddy tangled mess anymore. It was as if someone had washed and brushed them. She also realized that once more her scent was nice and she was able to breathe without smelling any stench from her surroundings or even her own body.

What was happening? Where was she? She looked around feeling her heart beating fast inside her chest. Was this another trap? Another torment? Another trick?

She could still feel Hell's mark on her. The Divine had not answered her prayers. She was still in Hell. But right now she had found herself inside a room of ...extravagance.

She chewed her lip fearfully. She was not in the throne room and she seemed to be alone.

She looked up at the obsidian dome ceilings with the chandeliers that seemed to cast a soft glow inside the room that bounced all over the black and gold marble floorings and columns. The walls and pillars were made from Corinthian design. There were carved statues along the walls and vases with fresh flowers. Peculiar. Did flowers even grew in Hell?

Fires were shimmering in the beautiful fireplaces. Beautiful carpets and curtains. Furniture with pillows and silks.

And in the center of the room there was a long table with fine china plates and crystals on top of the polished surface.

Caroline gulped and saliva filled her mouth. She had never felt this hungry and thirsty before. Her eyes did not leave the feast that was set on the table.

Bowls with fruit and cheese and steaming food. There was a lot of meat and seafood along with garnishes and side dishes. There were a lot of juicy pomegranates and shiny red apples. Grapes and berries. Cream and chocolate. There was wine and also... water.

She had never felt thirst of hunger in Heaven. Those were mortal desires and she was an angel but in Hell she did feel them. Her body had changed.

Caroline felt dizzy. Her hunger and her thirst were so demanding that were driving her mad. Her stomach growled for the first time in her life and she felt vulnerable. Everything on that table was calling her close. She wanted to devour everything. To throw herself over the plates and eat and drink and tame those needs of flesh that surely Hell had inflicted on her but she knew better than to eat or drink anything from this place despite how much she wanted to.

She had to show restraint. To somehow resist the temptation.

Her eyes burned. This was so cruel. She looked at one of the mirrors and took a step back. Watching her body naked inside this place of sin and luxury made her feel uncomfortable and for the first time she saw herself differently. She felt the need to cover herself and her hands wrapped around her breasts. The edges of her wings curled and reached her front and covered her private parts.

She could not take her eyes away from the mirror. Was this vanity? Shame? What was happening to her?

Smoke recoiled in the reflection of the mirror and Caroline's wings twitched. She first felt his presence but his voice coming from behind her still made her jump.

Blue eyes deep as the depthless blue of an ocean underneath ice bore holes on her back. Being like this so close to the Devil made Caroline's heart skip a beat.

She turned around slowly fully aware of how she looked without clothes. Klaus was dressed of course. Not with the medieval regal clothing he wore in the throne room or the modern elegant suit he had on at her trial. He now wore a simple soft Henley blouse and back jeans. Casual. Eerily human looking.

His eyes travelled all over her body with appreciation until a deep blush formed in her cheeks.

"No need for modesty in Hell," Klaus simply said even though he was fully dressed. Caroline pressed her lips but said nothing in return. She refused to give him the satisfaction. She even held back her need to cover herself despite how her wings were itching to fold in front of her again. She had nothing to be ashamed of. Her body was not something to cause her shame and she was used to nudity in Heaven. She would not let Klaus twist something natural and beautiful into something shameful. No matter how wildly her heart was beating against her ribcage. No matter how cautiously awkward she felt and how embarrassing it was to stand in front of him in that way. Inside this room of luxury that screamed decadence.

She said nothing. She didn't move even. She was unsure of why she was here and she knew that Klaus could manipulate every fear and wish she had. Every word that would spill from her lips. She had learned by now that he was searching of ways to torment and torture her. To make her an example and to mock through her all Heaven. To give his demons a spectacle. She didn't trust him and she was afraid that whatever this new plan of his to bring her here was it would only end in more pain and humiliation and yet she looked straight into his eyes. Defiance fired up inside her.

"You are very beautiful sweetheart," Klaus complimented her and once more she said nothing. She watched him with wary eyes as he gestured towards the table.

"But the true beauty lies within," Klaus said enigmatically and went and sat at the seat at the head of the table.

Caroline remained rooted at her spot as Klaus waved his hand and one more chair appeared at the right corner of the table. Right next to where he sat.

"Please have a seat," he graciously invited her to go and sit next to him. His tone was polite but Caroline remained skeptical.

Klaus smirked at her tentative stance and leaned back to his chair. His fingers tracing the edge of the table leisurely.

"I would hate to have to tie you to the chair love," he threatened and casually popped a grape in his mouth. Caroline glared at him as he chewed the fruit and smiled at her with an arched brow. She pressed her lips and reluctantly went and carefully sat at the comfortable chair.

Klaus smile grew wider and a glass of wine materialized in his hand. Caroline looked around remaining vigilant. It seemed that they were alone in this place. She didn't know if this was for the best or far more terrifying than being in the midst of thousand demons. Being so close to Klaus' presence made her feel as if doom was coming and all Hell was about to break loose.

Klaus' seemed comfortable enough. He sipped his wine and pointed at the food on the table.

"Please sweetheart don't be shy...I am sure you must be famished," he gingerly gave her permission to eat and drink. He was polite and that made Caroline become even more guarded than she was before. She looked at the food in front of her with longing but despite her hunger she steeled herself.

"I am good. Thank you," she turned down his offer and Klaus smirked amused

"As you wish love," he said and took a bite from an apple. He winked at her and Caroline breathed deeply feeling the need to squirm on her seat. She wanted to get out of here. She didn't like being so close to him like this. And despite her initial refusal to now shy away from him her wings elegantly folded in front of her hiding her body from his scrutiny.

Klaus did not comment on that and he did not seem to be angry or peeved by the fact that she was not consuming anything from the table.

When he snapped his fingers Caroline jolted up but Klaus once more seemed to be calm and oblivious to her inner turmoil. He didn't seem to care that she watched him with sharp eyes or that she was afraid of him. He didn't seem to care that he had been torturing her for so long and now he acted as if this dinner or whatever this was was normal.

Caroline gulped down when a sphere appeared on the table next to Klaus' wine crystal glass.

It was like a big crystal snow ball. The onyx glass shown as if it was infusing all light from everywhere around it. For some reason Caroline felt as if the crystal was calling out to her. Whispering. Inviting her closer. An alluring sensation of calmness and turbulence. A siren's song. Thunderstorm and miracle trapped in a bottle.

Smoke and mist and shadow were writhing inside the crystal. Deep inside its womb. The more you looked at it the more the shadows danced. Like black ink swirling in water and melted gold.

She had seen something like this before. Elijah had a similar crystal only his was made from ebony and stardust. This one was black like night and encompassed starlight.

Whenever Elijah was holding his beautiful crystal he was making sure to manipulate its light in ways that made everyone next to the ball feel serene and the whispers of that crystal sphere always halted whenever Elijah sensed the presence of anyone coming close to him whenever he was holding the ball in his hand. Caroline had seen him watching into the clouds of that sphere with melancholic eyes. Whenever he was alone Elijah always called for his crystal but never allowed anyone to watch straight into its depths. He never even allowed anyone to touch his precious glass. And despite the fact that Heaven's inventory listed all Holy Instruments Elijah's crystal was not catalogued.

Angels were never allowed to own possessions but Elijah was an Archangel. More so their leader and whatever that ball was or whatever it was even called was something that belonged only to Elijah.

But this one she was staring now even though it was so similar was also so different. It was imbued in darkness.

"Sphaera Veritas," Klaus voice broke through her trance and Caroline blinked. She stared up at Klaus that now smiled sweetly at her.

"The sphere of truth," he elaborated for her as if she needed the translation to begin with.

"I have seen one before...I think," she mumbled and Klaus nodded.

"From my brother I assume?"

Caroline felt so weird hearing Klaus calling Elijah his brother but she nodded and Klaus' smile turned bitter.

"The Original Witch has created certain trinkets for her children to play. For all of us. Although there are only two Veritas Spheres left in existence and as you can see one is in my possession while the other is in Elijah's hands," Klaus revealed to her and Caroline's spine was attacked by shivers.

The Original Witch. The Forbidden name. The mother of the Original Archangels. It was not allowed for anyone to speak her name in Heaven. The First Witch. The one that created Hell.

Klaus' fingers trailed over the crystal. Languidly. Caroline's eyes followed his movements. She felt mesmerized by that motion. It was as if Klaus was calling to the shadows that withered under his touch.

"Of course she created far more than the Veritas spheres," Klaus whispered, his voice as sweet as a lullaby, "when my mother created this place she infused it with the darkest and most powerful of angelic magic. Then she cast the Sins here. And with them the...Truth, since those would not exist without it," he drawled and Caroline felt heat rising in her skin.

"Truth is granted through these crystals to those of her bloodline...or to those _we_ allow," Klaus disclosed and he let go of the sphere.

"I assume the ever noble Elijah never allowed any of you lot to even go anywhere near his Sphaera," he assumed and Caroline looked away from the black crystal.

Klaus laughed.

"Of course he didn't. Why share such power with those beneath him," Klaus mocked and Caroline glared at him which seemed to entertain him.

His devilish smile was unsettling even more so as he made himself more comfortable and casually leaned against the back of his cushioned Victorian armchair.

"I, on the other hand would not mind sharing," Klaus sing sang as he extended his hand and played with the rim of his wine glass. His finger over the crystal produced a soft sound that vibrated between them as the wine inside the glass swirled.

"How did you feel when you fell?" Klaus then asked her, his eyes focused on her, his finger still circling the rim of the glass and Caroline tensed.

She didn't want to talk about that. She didn't want to talk about her fall. Neither the one to earth or the one here.

Horrific images flashed before her eyes. The physical and the emotional pain still lingered. Her broken bones had mended but her soul was still bleeding and she would never share that pain and that weakness with the King of Hell. And just maybe if she locked those memories away and if he allowed her to bury the pain somewhere deep inside she could pretend that this was just but a nightmare and she would soon wake up in Heaven. That this was not happening to her. This was just a bad dream.

Klaus' gaze lingered and anger once more bloomed inside her. This was real. And this monster in front of her would never give her a respite from the endless torment. But that was the only thing he would get from her. Nothing else. Nothing more. She would never give him anything more.

"You know. You were the first to Fall," she spat refusing to answer his question and Klaus seemed impressed.

"Touché love," he praised her with a smile that seemed to be an approval when it came to her attitude.

He stopped playing the wine glass as a musical instrument and his expression turned serious and he nodded at her.

"Unfortunately every birth or...re-birth is always painful. Growing pains can be agonizing," he admitted and seemed sincere.

The edge around his lips softened as did his gaze. He sighed.

"I know you believe that I have caged you for no reason aside perverse enjoyment and for torturing you... and while there is truth in that you should consider the magic of the cage as your... chrysalis. Every butterfly is first wrapped in a cocoon from which she feeds. The thorns inside the bars drink your blood bit by bit and you are becoming more tolerant to their venom slowly," he told her and Caroline's eyes widened.

Venom? Was he poisoning her so long?

"They are ...poison?" she stammered and stiffened when Klaus hummed.

"Yes," he unflinchingly said, "they are made from Hell's first roots. They are infused with Hell itself."

Caroline went unnaturally rigid and felt as if she the room started to spin all around her. Klaus gave her a sympathetic look before he retrieved his glass and drunk more from his wine.

"Had you not been taking their venom gradually and in doses you would be left in the mercy of this world when you fell. It would have been excruciating and since I was the first one to Fall as you pointed out you should trust me on this. I did not want you to endure what I did hence the cage. Soon enough however you will be able to withstand Hell's environment and you won't need the thorns."

He kept his tone detached but polite. Conversational even. He talked about his Fall and his pain as if it was nothing and more so he spoke as if he cared for her and did not want to see her hurt.

"Right now your body is feeding from Hell and Hell is feeding from it. Surely you can feel it," he gave her a pointed look and Caroline gulped down an erratic breath that burned her from lungs to skin, "the longer you remain in the cage the more balanced your body becomes while the cage keeps at bay the darkest of magic that craves your blood."

Caroline frowned as she listened to him. The more he talked the more she wanted to scream.

"Not to mention that it also keeps at bay all the monsters that want to feed on you. From what I remember this particularly had been very unpleasant," Klaus mentioned with a fond expression as if he was reminiscing something pleasant, "that had been quite painful for me when I first arrived here...well at least until I emerged victorious," he winked at her and there was pride in his tone before his expression turned solemn, "I would not wish that agony to anymore and how much more on you. And given _who I am_ that should tell you something," he pointed out and Caroline grit her teeth at the ruthlessness and pride that colored his words. But what drove her over the edge was the delight that shimmered out of him.

"Oh, so this is for my own good? How merciful of you! This is why you put me on display on the throne room every night?" she threw at him barely stopping herself from losing control and attacking him. She knew she had no chance to win in a direct confrontation. She was not a warrior and even if she was Klaus was an Archangel. An Original. The King of Hell. According to legend he was one of the more fearsome Archangels to have been born into the Holy Bloodline and his years in Hell had only turned him stronger.

Still the anger and the pain she felt were a volatile blend that was making her see red.

She almost threw caution in the wind when she saw him smirk at her. His face a cold mask of delight. The edge of his lips curved up and he mockingly rose his glass at her. Cheering at her torment.

Truly there was nothing remotely good left inside him. He was a monster.

"That is admittedly part of the perverse enjoyment I admit. I confess.. I am not perfect after all," he mocked and Caroline's nails carved the inside of her palms. She looked straight at him refusing to back down and when she saw him frowning she wondered what it was that broke through his cold amused exterior.

Their staring match continued for more moments and Caroline could swear that Klaus' demeanor had turned into one of pure calculation before he scolded his expression back to one of nonchalance.

"Let us return to the more practical matters," he suggested and Caroline felt lightheaded. He was insane. His mood swings were giving her a headache, "surely you keep wondering about what is happening to you," he observed and Caroline scrunched up her nose.

She had to be smart about this. She was trapped. There was no way out and she was in a disadvantage. She could not allow her anger to blind her now. And the King of Hell was right. She was completely lost when it came to what was happening to her. She did not even feel as if her body was her body anymore and more so her soul. Her mind, her memories, her feelings were altering. It was not just the torture. It was something more. Deeper. And Klaus had the answers. She knew he would probably try to trick her again but there was no point in pretending she was not interested for getting answers. She didn't trust him to be honest but the more information she could get the more she could find ways to help herself. Or at least so she hoped.

She nodded slowly. She felt drained from energy and she only wanted Klaus to be honest with her. To give her at least that. Klaus smiled at her. It was unsettling to say the least.

"When one falls to Hell certain things happen," he began and kept his tone clinical, "your physiology changes even though the alteration is not obvious at first. The change is gradual," he informed her and then his fingers hovered over the Veritas Sphere. It was as if inside it an ocean of shadow rose and rippled.

"Just a drop of darkness enters your heart. The first seed that waits to bloom," Klaus purred and Caroline's heart clenched inside her chest. His voice was now low. Sweet. Inviting.

He leaned forward and Caroline pressed her back against the back of her chair, her wings flaring.

"You can feel it don't you?"

The accent that colored his words was tempting; warm honey sliding inside her veins.

"Your urges are different," Klaus continued, "Your pain sharper. Your dreams more violent. Your anger sings you lullabies to make you sleep. Carnal desires stir," he insinuated and Caroline bit her lower lip, "you have thoughts you never had before. Not just because of what happened and keeps happening to you. There is a little voice in your head that awoke. The little voice you kept silent and at bay like the good little angel you were. But now it woke from its slumber and wants to come out and play more."

His eyes were like burning coals now. Caroline felt trapped inside that dark gaze that captivated her. Lies intertwined with the truth. Everything he said was true. She felt it. Every day and every night. Every hour and every minute. That little voice in her head was whispering to her right now. It was messing with her mind. It was as if the smoke from the Sphere was now wrapped around her like a blanket. She felt things she had never felt before. And she could not take her eyes away from Klaus'. What kind of magic was this? What kind of fire burned inside her? Deep inside. Her belly ached. Her body felt fragile as if it was taunt and ready to break and shutter into thousand pieces. The ache was intensifying and heat rose. It covered her cheeks. It was shame. It was something stronger than that. Energy. Longing.

Longing for what?

What was happening to her? She swallowed down feeling the air gone. She heaved and waited. She didn't know for what exactly. It was like a magnetic emotion calling her closer. Not to the Sphere that sang to her along with the little voice in her mind but towards the two blue eyes that held her captive. More than the cage with the thorns ever did. And she wanted to cry. So much. Butterflies flattered their wings inside her.

"You feel it don't you?" Klaus cajoled softly and removed his hand from the Sphere and Caroline blinked.

What had just happened? She looked at him and then at the sphere. What sorcery was this?

"You pretend that this is all pain and shock. You are still the martyr that suffers in Hell so this is all normal. Just post traumatic stress," Klaus taunted and Caroline felt her mouth going dry, "you even blame everything on me but deep down in that ocean of white a drop of black vibrates all ready to burst," he whispered. The timbre of his voice made from whatever temptation itself was made from.

Klaus visibly relaxed in his chair and beamed at her.

"No matter the crudeness of it in truth it can be very liberating if you let it happen," he provoked and ran his tongue over his teeth slowly, his eyes soaring over her suggestively. And Caroline understood why in his legends his name was so closely related with sin. He was pure sin trapped in skin. Calling souls in his trap. Calling her closer.

"It was for me," he admitted thoughtfully, "...eventually."

Caroline squared her shoulders and shook her head. She felt as if she was falling. Sweat gathered on her forehead. She was starting to miss the cage.

Klaus wet his lips with the tip of his tongue and Caroline felt something peculiar happening to her breasts and between her legs. It was as if her flesh was swelling and pulsating.

She looked away. Her face heating up. She felt the need to spread her wings and fly away but at the same time Klaus' mark on her soul was an anchor pulling her down. She had nowhere to go. But the more she stayed the more her body was betraying her bringing to mind impure thoughts. She didn't know how to wash away all the darkness and the shame. All the unclean feelings.

Klaus cleared his throat and gulped down the rest of his wine in a smooth go. Her eyes rose and she noticed that he was watching her with such fierceness as if he was able to break down all her walls and reveal her darkest secrets. Her darkest desires. Desires he was invoking. Despite all the anger she had. Despite everything he had done to her. All the torture and the humiliation. She felt something wicked born inside her. That drop of black in the endless ocean of white. It was if Klaus himself was already inside her. Claiming her soul. Her heart. Her body. A ripe sacrifice to be given to Hell itself.

"Since you are unwilling to share your experience so far...how about you tell me what you think happened to _me?"_

Caroline stared at him unsure of what to say. Was this a trick question? It was obvious wasn't it? Still. The more she looked at him the more she felt as if answers evaded her.

Klaus titled his head at her. Playfully even.

This was still a game he was playing. Against her. Stringing her along. Just like he had done in her trial.

"Come on Caroline. Don't be shy. I won't bite...well unless you ask me too. Which in that case I would be most happy to oblige," he promised with a wink and her face turned to a disgusted grimace.

Whatever the spell from the Sphere was it was finally dissolving. For it had to be the Sphere. And no Truth had to be part of that cursed object. It was trickery. It was evil. Just like the monster that sat before her now.

"You turned into a Demon," Caroline spat with revulsion.

Klaus laughter was deep and rich.

'Now there's that anger," the King of Hell praised her. He did not seem offended by her words. Not at all. "...and yes that I did," he slowly and so very proudly agreed with her assessment.

Caroline gasped when Klaus' face transformed. She shrunk back, her back hitting the chair her wings fluttering.

His lips parted and fangs elongated. The sharp teeth of a beast ready to tear flesh and worlds in a single vicious bite. But it was not just his teeth. His eyes turned bloodshot as if a lake of blood drenched the whiteness underneath his eyelids. What was more terrifying and oddly mesmerizing was that in the midst of all that blood gold shone. His orbs were liquid starlight. Bright. Dark. Different shades of gold clashing and colliding in his menacing gaze. Dark veins of purple and black pulsated underneath his eyes criss-crossing all over his cheeks.

The sight was disturbing but Caroline could not look away. The tip of her fingers itched. It was as if she wanted to ran her fingers over those fangs to see if they were just as sharp as they looked now that their bright whiteness shimmered against his raspberry colored lips.

And those veins. Rivers on skin she wanted to caress. To see how they felt. To feel them. To watch deeper into those eyes. The eyes of a true demon. Of the Devil himself.

What was happening to her? She could not even blink. The gold shade of that gaze felt like the sun. Blinding her. Scorching her. So much evil. So much light. No wonder they had called him the light bringer once. And even now that he was submerged into the night his demonic form carried gold and shine. As it also carried blood.

Klaus' leaned closer. Closer to her. She felt herself drawn closer too. Her fear was replaced by something else.

Curiosity.

"What do you think this means?" Klaus asked her. His smile more disturbing and dangerous now that his demon had taken over his face. The angelic beauty was gone. But there was still beauty in his features. Savage brutal beauty. Death and decay.

"That you are evil," Caroline whispered breathlessly and wondered why some part of her longed to ran her fingers over his face. To touch. To explore. To feel. To see closer all the shade of the gold in his eyes.

Klaus' lips stretched on his face and his fangs reflected the light from the chandeliers above them. He gave her a theatrical start pretending to be surprised and offended by her accusation.

"You wound me love," he ironically complained placing a hand over his chest dramatically and Caroline could not help but glare at him making Klaus smile at her.

His demonic features vanished. His face once more beautiful. Angelic features of beauty. Painfully reminding Caroline of Heaven again. Of home.

"Evil is not born out of fangs and devil horns sweetheart. It is made," he said knowingly, "but fear not... Hell cannot make you evil. People like Elijah and your brethren however can," he mused playfully, "should they betray you and sacrifice you and throw you to the wolves to save their skin after they first use you and take everything from you when it is convenient for them. You wouldn't know anything about such a thing would you?" he taunted her and Caroline looked down. Pain bloomed in her heart and she felt as if it would burst out of her chest. Tears lingered in her eyes and she wondered if this was how humans felt. If this was why they were so prone to sin. Because that ache and that hurt she felt right now was inhuman and she would do anything to make it stop.

"In any case as you have noticed you have not turned into a demon. _Yet,_ " Klaus emphasized the last word. Its meaning making Caroline's head snap up.

"Never!"

Her voice was adamant and Klaus' dimples adorned his face as his lips stretched into a teasing smile.

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves here and say things we don't mean. Give it time. I am sure black wings will look good on you," he winked at her and then darkness loomed all around them.

Caroline watched in awe as Klaus' wings took form behind his back. Majestic in their onyx shadow and color and far bigger and wider than any set of wings she had seen in Heaven. Not even Elijah's wings were that long and big and no one in Heaven could compare with the Original Archangel's winged appearance.

But the King of Hell could. His wings cast a heavy shadow. The whole room seemed to become smaller. Darkness was brimming and the blackness of his wings contrasted with the white shine of her own feathers.

Reality itself was warping around Klaus' wings that seemed to devour all light around them. Caroline could never imagine before that black wings could have such brilliance. She could not help but admire them and yet her admiration was one of dread.

She drew in a sharp breath when Klaus' manipulated his one wing and its edge caressed her chin, tipping her head up.

It was like a blade. Lethal. Ready to carve her up. To slit her throat and rip her to shreds and yet it was just as soft too. A light feather of shadow and inky mist.

Caroline did not even dare to breathe. The edge of Klaus' feather traced the column of her neck and grazed the wings she had folded around her chest. When black touched white Caroline could swear that electricity hummed inside her. A different desire all together. Not carnal. But so very sinful. It called to what they both were. It transcended skin and blood and seared the soul.

"This transformation takes time. Everything in Hell is about choice," Klaus assured her, his wing caressing the outline of hers. His darkness eating her light. Color crept in her cheeks and an odd feeling bloomed. Her wings vibrated. Their luminance mixed with the shadows and seemed somehow brighter still.

"And Sin," Caroline whispered and Klaus nodded pleased and withdrew his wing.

"And Truth," he reminded her and it was as if the sphere on the table was sentient because whatever it hid inside it danced and came alive.

"Once you shed your fears and all that kept your true self bound your power will shine," Klaus drawled and then his grin turned menacing.

"My wings got black in time," he told her and Caroline watched as the blackness that pulsated in the very core of his feathers bounced all around him and...her. It was terrifying and exhilarating at once.

Eventually Caroline thanked the Divine when Klaus' wings disappeared. Time seemed to ran in its previous normalcy again. The darkness got lost in shadow and Caroline breathed in relief.

"But there is something else that happened to me too" Klaus confided and his finger glided over the crystal.

Caroline watched mystified as light shone from the depths of the Veritas Sphaera and the shadows attached themselves to the inside surface of the glass walls.

Klaus held the sphere and concentrated. Caroline eyes widened as an image appeared inside the sphere.

A wolf.

Monstrous. Huge. Golden.

"Don't be afraid love...take a closer look. I promise no tricks or games," Klaus vouched and showed her the Sphere. Caroline's mouth parted and genuine fear appeared in her eyes. She had seen many grotesque terrifying demons and monsters in Hell every since her trial and fall but nothing provoked such absolute dread.

The more she watched into the Sphere the more the wolf was becoming real. Staring back at her. Growling. His eyes shining gold. Like coals in fire but made from unearthly magic. The wolf was a beast like no other. Blood ran down its fangs. Claws in its paws. And its fur seemed to be made from what their wings were made. Power. Magic. Heaven and Hell.

"Everyone hides a beast inside. Even the righteous angels. Hell simply gives it a manifestation," Klaus darkly said and Caroline stared at him with an open mouth.

"You can change into ...this beast?" she mumbled horrified. Unable to even comprehend how his grace even in Hell could be corrupted to a point where everything divine would be turned into...a monster. An animal. Into...the Wolf.

"Yes," Klaus boasted with pride and Caroline could hear the howling of the wolf coming out from the Sphere. It was unholy. A blaspheme. It could make worlds shutter and fall.

"This...beast...is part of me. It is me," Klaus accepted and stroke the Sphere almost with adoration. Moonlight shone over the glistening shine of the wolf's fur.

"For me it is the wolf. But the transformation is different for every person. Every creature is unique," Klaus noted and fixated his gaze on her until finally realization dawned on her.

She tried to speak. To voice her panic. But she couldn't. The wolf howled and Klaus' smiled. The Sphere called out to his darkness and to her.

"Do-es tha-t me..an?" she stuttered and Klaus grinned at her.

"Oh, yes sweetheart. Can't you feel it crawling under your skin? Tugging at the flesh. Begging to be let out of its cage?" he challenged her and Caroline shook. Anger, hurt and fear filled her from core to surface.

"No. This can't be. Stop!" she yelled at him, trepidation engulfing her in unforgiving clutches but she could not move.

This could not be happening. She could not be turning into a monster! What has he done to her?

"It is there," Klaus simply said. Softly and with certainty, "just under the surface. Hell has latched to every cell of yours. To every inch. To every nerve ending. Your soul bears my mark and Hell recognizes it. The moment you fell Hell wrapped you in its embrace and it never lets go of what it owns. Of what _I_ own," he declared and placed the Sphere right in front of her.

Tears fell from Caroline's eyes. She looked at him pleadingly. Somehow to show her some mercy. To tell her he was lying. But he was not. She could feel it. Deep inside. Just under the surface as he had said. She wanted to claw out her skin with her bare hands. Anything to make sure that whatever hid inside her would never be born.

"Esther's magic drew raw power from nature but Hell has its own nature and recognizes you as one of its creatures," Klaus sulkily pushed the knife deeper into her wounds. Caroline sobbed and felt disconnected from her own mind. Her grace, her memories, her whole being was tainted. She was a creature of Hell and there was no going back. What was she going to do?

"Break free sweetheart," Klaus enticed her, "or touch the Sphere and take a good look at it. Don't you want to find out what your immortal coil hides underneath?" he goaded her. His voice warm. Alluring.

Caroline watched the Sphere in front of her. Its magic daring a touch out of her.

"Hell affects angels differently," Klaus said, "you are not a mortal, or a human. You are not a witch or a soul ripped from mortal binds transcending death and most certainly you are not a demon right now. So far I had been the only one of Angelic creation in Hell but here you are at last. You might not be an Archangel but you are an Angel and more so a Light Angel. That is a rare breed especially considering where you are now. Even I do not know your true potential and the kind of power Hell can give you should you embrace your change.

Klaus licked his lips. He saw the battle of emotions that raged inside the angel. Her face was so transparent. The pain, the bafflement, the horror. The temptation and the curiosity. The anger and the desperation.

Only but a few could resist the magic of the Sphere. Soon she would touch it and he would see her true form inside the shadows of the Veritas Sphaera.

Truth was that he was also curious. The light emanating from a Light Angel was the polar opposite of the darkness Hell sustained. Both in their core were created by angelic force so Hell's energy and Caroline's light were not only clashing against each other but were also two halves of a whole. Archangels like him and Elijah had the blood of the Warrior. But Caroline's grace was one of pure celestial energy. Archangels and Light Angels were of the same kind and species but of a different breed and race. Hell on the other hand was an opposite mirror of Heaven. Even he had no idea what would happen after Hell's generated power would completely merge with Caroline. He did not know the true potential of what would be transformed at the aftermath of that union. It was a very interesting experiment.

And he could see in Caroline the same thirst for change. He had watched her for decades and he kept a close watch on her ever since she entered his domain. Trivial conventions could not stifle her spirit. No Heaven and no cage could sustain her. She wanted to break free. She craved to see the world. Own it even. For now she would never admit it but under all the propriety and brainwashing she had received from Heaven a wanderer was hidden underneath. Caroline wanted freedom. Power. She wanted to be strong, ageless. Fearless. Small corners in Heaven would never be enough for her. Rules and servitude would never satisfy her.

"Think of all the possibilities," Klaus' whispered trying to tempt her. "the kind of power you can yield can literally be unimaginable sweetheart. There will be no other like you," he murmured and saw the passion that flared in her eyes, "you will be one of a kind," he purred luring her in. The image of the Sphere reflected in the haze of her eyes.

"Aren't you even the bit curious?" Klaus insisted gently and pushed the Sphere closer to her. Caroline's breath fogged the top of the Sphere that hummed.

Her fingers hovered above the crystal just a for a second. Klaus' held his breath in anticipation but then his eyes narrowed in disbelief when she withdrew her hand back.

Klaus blinked. No one has been able to resist the Sphere for ages.

"No, stop!" Caroline yelled and Klaus watched in wonderment as the Sphere moved on the table closer to him and further away from her. As if she had managed to willed it to move back.

 _Impossible_ , he thought but quickly reigned over his bewilderment. Regaining his control he waved his hand and the Sphere disappeared from sight. The last thing he wanted was truth to backfire against him.

"I can see this is stressful for you. So maybe a change of topics would be for the best now," he deflected, "we have established that I am all for perverse enjoyment but I happen to like you."

Caroline gave him an incredulous look. Her surprise over what he said taking over the dread she had felt over what he revealed to her so far.

Surely she was thinking that his statement was a lie. He was amazed to realize that it was not. He did like her. She was a breath of fresh air in this bleak place. A respite from his never ending boredom.

"Don't look at me like that love. Stranger things have happened," he chuckled under his breath and Caroline rolled her eyes at that. He smiled and leaned back at his chair. It was refreshing to see that despite everything she was still comfortable enough to act that way around him. Such a peculiar creature she was. Either naive or brave. He had yet to understand which one was more prominent in her behavior. So far what had happened to her had not deterred her from being...her. Her light still shone through.

"I do fancy you sweetheart," he admitted feeling a tinge of genuine surprise. Somehow he truly did like her, "so... I am willing to offer you an alternative and spare you from all the pain and humiliation. Your body has mostly balanced the physical changes and I will be here to guide you through everything else. There is no practical need for you to be tucked away in your cage. I could even craft you a bracelet from the thorns for you to wear until your body completely adjusts," he offered and saw how Caroline locked her gaze with his. She looked at him with suspicion and mistrust.

"Where's the catch?" she questioned him and he rose his eyebrow at her.

"Do you really think that low of me?" he asked her feigning surprise and innocence and the blood in his veins turned to liquid roaring fire at the insolence and rebellion that sharpened her features.

"Yes."

Oh, she was a clever one wasn't she?

Klaus smirked at her bluntness and fearless honesty. So... brave it was.

"Well sweetheart you can always decide to remain in your little cage. As the circus freak of Hell or..." he paused and watched her intently, "accept to join me in my quarters."

The innuendo in his voice was a clear message of what he actually meant by asking her to join him in his quarters and he watched as all color drained from her face.

She pushed her chair back and got up. She stood tall, unfurling her wings to the back not caring to cover her body. She did not flinch or cower as she presented her nudity in front of him. Her reaction a sign of strength and dignity.

Her body was glorious and tempting and her wings a thing to behold but he kept his eyes fixed on her face.

He scrutinized her reactions mesmerized as the shock and fear turned to steel. She aroused his interest as she jutted her chin out. So very proud. And so oblivious to the fact that Pride was a deadly sin.

"I would like to go back to my cage now," she refused him and despite his amusement and intrigue he felt angry at her refusal.

No one had ever refused him anything for centuries. Everyone bowed to him and here she was. One of his subjects and possessions thinking she could deny him. _Him_. The King of Hell. No matter how brave and beautiful she was she had to understand that she belonged to him. Should he want to he could spread her over this very table and ravage her until she would beg for mercy. Until her pride would crumble to dust. But what good would it do to have a broken light when it would not serve his purposes at all.

Still...anyone else in her place would have been honored but not her and somehow underneath the immediate fury, that rushed into his blood ignited by his very nature, he felt...scorned and offended by her refusal. She did not view him as good enough. For her and for the rest of her kind he was nothing but an abomination. Despite been born in the same lands and by the same power. Despite the fact that her brethren had treated her the same way they had treated him. Despite the fact that she also fell. She viewed him...the _King of Hell_ as if he was beneath her. An insolent unimportant angel that Heaven cast away to be punished and to become his plaything! His concubine! And still she considered them and herself above him. That alone burned and he hated that it burned more coming from her.

He would break that pride of hers. _Soon._

"I won't offer you the same deal again love," he warned her, his voice low and cold devoid of all its previous lightness.

Caroline did not budge. Her stance unyielding. A sign of no compromise.

She willed her wings to disappear and simply watched him with increasing loathing. As if her wings would be tainted if she kept them for long in his presence.

Damn her.

"Good," she resolutely scorned and the disgust in her expression had his palms turn to fists and his fangs piercing his gums. She was tempting his control. Watching him as if was nothing but filth. As once Mikael and all those sanctimonious angels did. Watching him as if she had power over him.

He narrowed his eyes at her, specks of gold flashing in his glower. His eyes roamed over her naked flesh. Slowly. Enough to make her feel uncomfortable and warn her that her impudence would not go unpunished.

He threw his chair back and Caroline flinched at it broke to pieces meters away from where he now stood.

Danger was palpable as he prowled closer to her scoffing mockingly at her attempt of courage. She did not back down. He looked down at her. His breath warming her face. His nostrils flaring at the smell of her body. At the arousal that still lingered between her legs. Such a young thing in Hell still reeling in the aftermath of her fall. So easy to get aroused even by air now that her body was awakening.

Those new changes were surely confusing her. She was oblivious to what was actually happening to her or what it meant and it was something that he would certainly use to his advantage.

But for that he had to restrain himself first. To halt his impulses and keep his mind focused on the endgame.

It was not an easy thing. Having her so close. Her presence alone was seducing him. One more thing that had not happened to him for centuries but he wanted to fuck her. To ravage her. To take her mind and her body. To twist her soul and have her fall in his arms. He wanted her to surrender her body to him and he wanted everything. To take her. To use her. To fuck her. To keep her. He had not felt such a demanding need for so long. Everything had stretched in time. His desires had dulled. Everything bored him. No woman or man, demon or human interested him truly. Surely he engaged in the desires of the flesh but nothing penetrated the surface of desire. Nothing truly moved him anymore. Everyone bored him.

But she did not. Oh, the things he could teach her. The things he would make her feel. The pleasure he would give her once she would submit to him and learn her place.

Caroline's stubbornness was not yielding despite the way her heart was beating fast.

She took a fortifying breath when he reached for her hair. Her eyes followed his movements as he twirled a blonde lock around his finger.

"Turn around. Show me your wings," he told her, his tone stern. A warning for her to obey but the little angel squared her shoulders and yanked her head away pulling her hair away from his touch. His fingers itched. Wanting to feel more of the silky texture of her threads in his fingertips.

"No!"

Her defiance was raw as her eyes went ablaze with indignation and anger. Klaus sneered at her before he clasped his hands behind his back and stepped back. His eyes dilated and caught her gaze in a trance.

"I command you," he ordered her with a gentle voice and a taunting smirk.

Caroline's eyes glazed over for a second before she swayed on her legs. Without having any control over her actions she turned around.

She gasped when her wings appeared behind her back. White and in all the shine.

She felt as if her body was not hers anymore. Se straightened her spine and her wings fanned out. In all of their glory. Caroline mentally tried to dissolve them but just like when she was in the cage in the throne room she had no control over her wings.

She remained rooted at her spot. Unable to move. Unable to do anything than obey Klaus. She was showing him her wings.

She felt him approach her from behind and shuddered when he dragged his nail down her spine causing shivers to erupt all over her body. Her wings twitched and their luminance increased but Klaus' did not seem to mind. Her light did not burn him or blinded him. If anything he seemed drawn to it.

"How?" Caroline breathed out in defeat and closed her eyes when Klaus chuckled. She felt his palms over her feathers. An invasive touch she did not want and she felt bile rising up her throat. She turned her head to the side and watched her wings. Thank the Divine they were white. That alone was bringing some relief that was making Klaus' caress tolerable to some extent. Her wings were not black like his. They were white. And they would remain so. She would make sure of that no matter how much Klaus' would torment her. She would not break.

"You belong to Hell now and everything that belongs to Hell belongs to me. I can make you do whatever I want sweetheart but... where is the fun to that?" Klaus laughed and Caroline wanted to throw up. His fingers were threading her feathers. Sorting them out in her angelic limbs.

She quivered when she felt his breathe against the nape of her neck. The King of Hell wrapped his hand around her waist. His chest collided with her back and her wings.

Klaus watched with appreciation those beautiful wings. His angel was brilliant. Her beauty was one of those that created legends Klaus' thought. His eyes roamed over that magnificent ass and those toned long legs. He craved to run his fingers all over that white soft skin. But most of all he wanted to feel her wings wrap around him. He wanted to get lost in her embrace and turn that whiteness into the black that would be forever his.

"Such pretty feathers," he sighed, "it will take time for your wings to change to black."

"Not if I have a say on it," Caroline fought back and Klaus smiled.

"You think you have a say?" he wondered out loud and spun her around so to face her. Lust thrummed inside him. Her body felt as if it was created to be his. He wanted nothing else than to lick every inch of hers. To sink his fangs into that astounding long neck and those glorious breasts. To run his tongue south and give her unspeakable pleasure. He felt his cock hardening even at the mere thought and now she was not just a thought. She was here. Ready for the taking.

His hand wrapped around her neck. He could so easily choke her and snap her like a twig. But he did not want to. He wanted her to come to him. He wanted those lips to kiss him and suck his cock in compliance and submission.

"You spoke about choice," Caroline said hotly and he titled his head to the side intrigued, "if you could just command me to do everything you wanted you would not be here playing mind games with me and trying to seduce me, torture and trick into becoming whatever it is you want me to become. It won't happen. I made my choice and you don't have a say on it," she swore and Klaus' tightened his hold around her neck but Caroline remained unafraid of him.

She struggled back trying to get away from his hold and he let her.

"Not just a pretty face I see. You do present a challenge," he acknowledged and snickered when Caroline grimaced.

His fingers released his hold around her neck slowly and he brushed his knuckles against the juncture of her neck. A light caress that had his angel furrowing her brow in anger and desire. Her body was responding to his touch either she wanted it or not.

He slowly walked around her in circles.

"I happen to like your fiery side," he admitted and enjoyed the way her eyes glimmered with fire.

With a swift move he plucked a feather from her and her heart retching scream ricocheted in the room. Caroline fell on her knees with a cry of anguish. Her wings flattered as if they were being flayed.

Klaus knew that pain all too well. An angel's feathers were impervious to permanent damage. Whenever they were scratched they bled lightly and healed. Caroline's wings were always healing whenever the vines from the cage trapped them in their thorny embrace when she was on display in the celebrations in the throne room.

But this now was different. It required extreme power to be able to make the wings of an angel bleed from their core and more so to yank out even a single feather. It was like tearing a limb. The pain was maddening. Usually even angels did not have the required strength to pull out feathers from an angel wing. Not that they would ever do so if they could. Such a harvest might be precious to him but it was a sacrilege for them. Yet it was simple for him to snatch Caroline's feather. Not only was he an Original Archangel but his years in Hell have increased his strength to a degree Heaven had never seen before.

Still now that he watched Caroline bleeding on her knees sobbing and clutching her body with her hands in an attempt to ease the pain he realized that the feather jewel in his hands burned. Its shine was like a pearl in his fingers. Its root still crimson with blood. The same blood that was now cascading down Caroline's wings creating rivulets of blood in the infinite white. Her wings had gone limp behind her. Lifeless and flaccid on the floor.

Klaus crouched down next to her and watched as she writhed in excruciating pain. He played with the feather in his hands and inspected her reactions. The ragged breaths, the sobs, the heaving.

He dragged the feather he held over her sweaty thigh making her whole body twitch. Even the slightest brush of touch or air against her body would be torture right now and how much more if it was coming from a part of hers he stole.

He wanted to break her will but for some reason he did not enjoy causing such an immense agony despite how much of a sadist he was and could be.

He caressed her hair. Soothingly and Caroline picked up her head with difficulty. Her eyes large and glossy. Full of hurt and fear.

"You can stay here and heal," Klaus proposed but even he was taken aback by the anger he saw in Caroline's glare. So much defiance. So much strength. So much...light.

"No," she grit out and Klaus' fingers wrapped around the feather, his knuckles turning white.

His jaw clenched and he snapped his fingers aggravated sending her back to the cage in the well knowing that in her current state the thorns would hurt her infinitely more.

He rose on his feet and rolled his shoulders. Caroline's scent still lingered stirring desire inside him. Tension was making his muscles rigid but the feather in his hands was so very soft. Pure white still and untainted.

His eyes fixated on the feather for a long moment before the Veritas Sphaera materialized in his palm as he leaned at the edge of the table. She had even managed to even will the Sphere away. She truly had potential.

But how much potential exactly?

He slid the feather over the crystal caressing the glass almost reverently and the drop of blood that lingered at the root of the feather fell over the sphere that immediately absorbed it.

Klaus watched with bated breath as the Sphere responded to his call. He watched in awe as the shadows writhed and inside them a new image took life.

He had never seen anything like it ever before. Absolute singular. Everything that Caroline was and could be. All that she would come to be one day. Soon.

He ran his thumb over the crystal and the feather. His eyes locked on the image inside.

"Genuine Beauty," he whispered.

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 _[Veritas Lux Mea : The Truth is my Light]_


	5. Αt Eventide it Shall be Light

_**^ Warnings:**_

 _ **Rated Very Mature.**_

 _ **This story will be very dark and will include graphic scenes of non con themes, abuse -emotional and physical- and triggering elements. If you can't deal with such elements please do not read any further.**_

 _ **^ Additional Warnings:**_

 _ **This chapter has DARK content. This is a HORROR story. It is set in HELL. There will be graphic scenes and descriptions of torture and Klaus is literally the Devil and his Hell is filled with horrific Demons.**_

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 _ **Disclaimer: All rights belong to the creators of TVD/TO.**_

* * *

 **A Song of Chaos and Eternal Night**

Her own kind had disowned her and their betrayal led to her fall. From a protector of the light to a fallen angel in Hell. And now she was caged by the King of Hell with no hope of escaping him. Heaven/Hell trope. Klaroline AU. Dark Themes.

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 **Additional Warnings for this story:**

No offense to the Christian faith or any other faith is intended.

Klaus is practically the devil so do not expect him to be nice or good.

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 **Chapter V:** **Α** **t Eventide it Shall be Light**

x

"If you are going through hell, keep going."

― Winston S. Churchill

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Caroline watched down at the miles and miles that stretched beneath the cage. Her heart was beating wildly as her prison was lifted from the depthless dark well and was carried over ice and brimstone. Darkness devoured all light and all Caroline could see was wisps of smoke and mist. The thorns were cutting her more and more with every abrupt movement as the demons that had wrapped their tails around the top hook of the cage did not care for the comfort of their cargo at all.

It was the first time demons had come at the well to move her cage. Klaus was always using magic to materialize the cage from the throne room back to the well and vice versa. That change only brought fear in Caroline and she bit the inside of her cheek and tried to hold on from the bars despite the injuries that bloomed in her palms. Eventually, she finally saw in the night massive rocks appearing in the form of colossal mountains.

The rotten wings of the demons cut through the air, which smelled like sulfur, and her captors flew the cage down to the steaming rivers and entered a cave opening.

Caroline watched with unease as the distance was becoming larger and larger and the cage was hitting rock and boulders before the demons finally entered another cavern with water dripping on the ore walls with the wet iron and ash veins.

Finally with a thud the cage was dropped over to the dirt and Caroline let out a whimper of pain as the fall shook her. She hit her head to the cage bars causing the thorns to tear her skin even more.

Dark murky waters sloshed at the right side of the cage as rivers of flamed waters cascaded down the cave. Caroline tried to subdue the sense of terror she felt when she heard hissing noises and soft neigh sounds. The ground quaked as if galloping was trampling whole mountains. Flashes of trembling light were coming in deep from the cave.

Caroline blinked trying to adjust to the darkness and the flickers of light; beyond the wet cave walls and the gravel, she managed to get glimpses of an open carriage that was led by winged steeds.

She gulped down in fear as those creatures slowly emerged from the darkness and trotted closer.

She had seen demons and monsters and blood trees and carnage but she gaped as she faced the two black horse-like creatures with their huge wings. Their wings seemed like those of a bat. Black and thin with pulsing veins. Their bodies were gigantic. Terrifying. Almost twenty foot tall. With long manes and shiny leathery skin. Their eyes had a maniacal glitter and instead of teeth they had fangs and hot steam and embers were hissed out of their nostrils.

Caroline loved the horses on Earth. She always considered them majestic creatures but those were not horses. If she had to take a guess these were a twisted image of what a grotesque Friesian and a monstrous Andalusian would look like if they were nurtured in Hell.

She shivered as the steeds slowed down and lowered their long necks at the rivers. The fire from the steaming water seemed to relax them and they came to a halt.

So did the gold open carriage they were pulling behind them.

The earth shook as the demons that had carried her cage into the cavern and were flying above it landed on the grounds with a thud. Their hooves cracked the earth. They knelt down and bowed their heads as the King of Hell stepped down the royal carriage.

Caroline gripped the bars feeling their thorns cutting her flesh and held her breath as Klaus sauntered towards her cage. He was wearing his onyx crown and a long black cape above his leather surcoat. He was dressed in Royal black and red garments. He wore his wolf insignia. He was carrying a seethed sword in his leather belt along with daggers and he was wearing leather boots. She had never seen him dressed like that. Not even in the Throne Room when he was sitting on his throne.

He looked far more terrifying than his horses. His eyes glittered in the darkness like stars as his piercing gaze roamed over her slumped form inside the small cage. She was dirty, disheveled and exhausted while he looked like a medieval King.

"How have you been sweetheart?" he asked her cordially and Caroline pressed her lips refusing to play his games any longer. He was taking a perverse satisfaction from torturing her and she was not going to give him any more ammunition to use against her.

"I see you are not in a talkative mood today," Klaus noticed and Caroline hated the amusement that coated his words.

She glared at him and he only smiled in return. He then crouched before her cage in a smooth move. His gloved fingers reached hers but she let go of the bars and withdrew her hands back. She pushed her knees up to her chin and hugged them. There was something very intense and unsettling in his eyes and it only brought her more fear and anxiety.

Klaus sighed and looked at her almost sympathetically.

"That's too bad because it a lovely night tonight. For small talk and serenade," he drawled and Caroline frowned.

There was a lightness in the way he talked. He was mocking her and something felt wrong. She knew he was already planning something she would not like. But what could it be worse than what he had already done to her? He threw her into Hell and kept her locked in a tiny thorn cage that was constantly cutting her skin. He was poisoning her with Hell's venom and was corrupting her slowly while he was putting her on display in his Throne Room every night. He was then throwing her into the pits of a well that only rats, spiders and hell's insects dwelled.

And now she was just like those vermin. He had taken away her cleanness and beauty.

Her hair and her skin were dirty. She was stinking with a bad smell that was making her nauseous. Mud and dirt were sticking on her body. She was caked with blood. Both hers and from the many victims in the throne room. Klaus' demons had been throwing blood and wine over her every night. Along with what she assumed were feces and piss. It was disgusting. Just as disgusting was when they spat on her and poked her with feathers and roses through the bars as they taunted her with the pain of the poor victims they tortured, raped and maimed in front of her. While swearing at her and telling her what they would do to her too.

She was praying for those poor souls and for her own. She prayed to the Divine for absolution. Even the idea that Klaus would hand her to his demons to be raped and passed along and tortured terrified her more than anything else and she knew that if he was to do that then he would indeed break her.

So far he hadn't but there were times like these, when he was looking her with caring eyes and had a sweet smile pretending to be nice and polite, that scared her the most. He was the devil after all and this was Hell and she could tell that Klaus had already come up with another round of torture for her and it was enough to make her scream. She could not take this anymore. How could her eternity be like that? What had she done to deserve this? She had only wanted to help people. To follow her calling. She had only wanted to be good and she was good. Why was she punished for this?

She watched with guarded eyes as Klaus swayed his hand and the bars in the front of her cage disappeared.

He had opened the cage and he offered her his hand gesturing for her to get out but she stared at his open palm with caution and trepidation. Instead of accepting his offer as he surely expected she stayed as she was and did not take his hand.

She steeled herself and despite her pain and her need to stretch and get out of the cage, she forced herself to not move. This was a trap. She knew it. She could feel it.

Klaus' hand fell to his side and he sighed.

He simply got up and looked at her from above with impatience. As if she was a naughty spoiled child.

"Come out lovely. I am sure you need a stretch," he prompted but Caroline only hugged her knees tighter.

Klaus rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. The cage disappeared altogether and Caroline lost her balance and fell down. Before she could even react Klaus was by her side and his gloved hand was gripping her chin tightly.

She moaned and tried to move but as she did her gaze got caught in his and it was then that she realized her grave mistake.

Her body went numb and his grip became gentle. Her pupils dilated and she felt weightless as Klaus' magic enveloped her. She got lost in his eyes. Nothing else existed. She could not breathe or move. He cupped her face and a tear fell on her cheek.

She was becoming frantic in her mind but her body was held but a force that rendered her powerless.

"Breathe sweetheart," Klaus compelled her and she found herself breathing again. She could not blink. She could not do anything else rather than watch into the depth of his gaze.

"Now sweet Caroline. From now and on and until I say otherwise every time I command you to do something you will immediately obey. You will not hesitate. You will not struggle. You will not fight back. You will only obey. But only when _I command you_ to do so," he instructed and Caroline went completely slack in his arms and felt herself nodding.

"Fantastic," Klaus exclaimed and she gasped when he let her go. His compulsion was now having a permanent hold over her brain and actions. She stared at him horrified when she realized what had just happened.

"No," she breathed out.

Klaus stood up and grinned at her victoriously.

"Get up Caroline," he told her and when she didn't move he smirked, "I command you," he added theatrically and Caroline lost all control. Before she could even comprehend what happened she had obeyed his command. She got up in front of him. Her mind was screaming but Klaus' compulsion was stronger. She was now completely at his mercy.

Klaus hummed pleased and despite the tears that burned her eyes she glowered at him. Her palms turned into fists. He had left her with nothing. He had taken her freedom, her dignity, her future and her soul and now he had also taken away the last remnants of her free will. He was a monster and he had devoured her.

"Much better," Klaus told her and Caroline's body shook with shame and anger. She was standing naked and filthy in front of him. Completely powerless to stop him from doing whatever he wanted to do to her.

"You look a bit ragged love. Should you decide to take me up on my previous offer I would make sure you would be able to get comfortable. Get a hot bath. Eat. Rest in a comfortable bed," he tempted her reminding her his proposal to join him in his quarters. To become his concubine. To let him turn her into whatever beast he wanted and his Veritas Sphere promised.

She had pushed that nightmarish fate away from her mind. It would not happen to her. She would not let it. It was not an option. Not ever.

So Caroline said nothing to him. She would never allow him to corrupt her and she would never become his concubine.

She knew that all he could do was simply command her now. Maybe this was it. Maybe there would be no way out anymore but she would never give in to him on her own accord. She would never condemn her soul like this. She was already lost in Hell. But there was a part of her she would never trade or sacrifice. Not like this. Not ever. She had to fight. To stay true to her beliefs. To hope. To pray. Even if she felt it was all for nothing. She was not nothing. She was still herself and she would not allow him to do this to her.

"Such stubbornness," Klaus sighed as he took in her defiance, "Oh well. You have all the time in the world to change your mind," he suggested nonchalantly and Caroline's brow furrowed at his behavior. He gave up way too easily. And her rejection brought no anger or frustration to him. This was enough to strike ungodly fear into her.

"For now I'd like you to meet ...Tisiphone and Odin," Klaus changed the subject and pointed at his winged steeds that reacted to his voice and neighed.

Caroline held her breath and tried to resist when Klaus gripped her upper hand and pulled her towards the horses. The demons had risen behind her and followed them and the horses, if that was what these things could be called, waited for their master patiently; but their fearsome eyes were fixated on her.

Caroline trembled in fear as Klaus let her go and went and patted one of the horses that bent its head to Klaus' level obediently.

Caroline stumbled back but one of the demon guards from behind her growled and hissed his snake tongue at her. She was not allowed to deny the King of Hell. She realized she had nowhere to go and her fear multiplied. She was also so mindful of her appearance. She was completely naked and these vulgar creatures were watching her with hungry eyes despite her disgusting and crusty appearance. Ever since her Fall her body had changed its tune. She had needs and shame. Sexual shame. And her nakedness now mattered differently.

Klaus did not seem to care for her nudity or her mortification at all. He was only watching his pets with a tender gaze.

"Lovely creatures," he said and both horses purred contently, "so very loyal."

Klaus turned to her and motioned to his guards to step back. Caroline knew that it was pointless to try to run and move back but at least the demons were not breathing down her back.

"At first they would not be tamed," Klaus reminisced, "but in time they came to realize who their Master is and came to love my attention and care," he told her and Caroline understood the double meaning of his words. He viewed her as one of his horses. One more beast for him to tame and use, "Now they are utterly devoted to me. They follow me to war and anywhere else I wish," Klaus proudly claimed and Caroline, despite her better judgment, could not help but be impressed at how these terrifying creatures seemed to fawn over him.

Would this happen to her too? She could not think of a worse fate than becoming one more mindless pet for the King of Hell.

"But where are my manners sweetheart," Klaus faked regret and Caroline tensed and warning bells started ringing in her head, "I have been such a terrible host. So many weeks in my home and I have been remiss at showing you even a glimpse of my lands. This is your home now too after all."

Caroline stiffened at that. This was not her home. Heaven was her home. And Heaven had thrown her out.

Hell was not a home. It was a nightmare and Caroline dreaded nothing more than the gleam in Klaus' eyes. Not even Hell compared to it and right now that gleam was shining. It was almost maniacal along with something sinister in his voice.

"You know today marks the beginning of the Gehenna Eventide for my people," Klaus informed her, "It lasts forty days and nights. Every night from dusk to dawn flames rage in all of Hell in celebration. A ritual for war, fertility, blood," he said and Caroline grimaced at the pagan and devilish images that appeared in her mind at Klaus' description.

"It is a lovely affair," Klaus assured her and approached her, "Full of wonder and magic. Everything comes alive," he whispered in her ear and she shuddered, "thousands of demons give birth or get heavy with demon seeds these days. It is considered a blessing to be conceived or born at the Eventide and surely most demons do try to make it happen," he revealed and Caroline's features contorted in a mask of disgust that seemed to amuse Klaus.

The demon guards chuckled and Caroline felt their eyes on her. Ice ran down her veins. The idea of being raped and being forced to give birth to a demon monster petrified her.

"People roam the nights," the King of Hell continued, "Thousands upon thousands holding torches and setting everything alight. And at the Dawn Gathering, the sacrifices commence and last all day long so to welcome the next night to come. Quite the spectacle," Klaus promised and Caroline tried to keep her calm.

She was horrified. Only God knew what these demons sacrificed to their satanic Eventide. She knew of humans and animals that were going missing on Earth. Abducted by demons and carried away in Hell.

She had seen many of them being tortured and savagely killed or even eaten in the Throne Room and she could already tell that many of them would be sacrificed at the Dawn Gathering also. She was horrified and she really did not want to know what demons considered a _lovely affair_ but something told her that she would not avoid it.

She stared at Klaus. Would he sacrifice her too? She froze in terror.

"I think it would be a shame for you to not attend the Eventide," Klaus declared and Caroline's heart sank. She wanted to be brave and show courage but there was only fear and she could tell Klaus could see right through her.

"And since you are my guest we will get to go together," he taunted her and Caroline felt her knees trembling. Right about now she was starting to miss the cage. "My people are dying to see Hell's angel after all and even long before your trial I had promised them to present you to the masses at the Midnight hours of the Eventide."

Her eyes widened at that. It was not just what he said but it was the way he said it.

Klaus' finger traveled down the column of her neck and she was so shocked that she tolerated his caress without moving.

"Yes, love. I was that sure you would _fall_ into my arms," he divulged and his fingers wrapped around the nape of her neck bringing her closer.

"One last chance Caroline. Give yourself to me and everything will be far easier for you," he proposed. His lips were so close and for a moment Caroline felt trapped in something that resembled his compulsion. Magnetic and magical and so strong that it tempted her to give in to him. It was far more wicked than his powers of mind control.

She placed her hands on his chest and she felt him tense. She felt his anticipation and in return she firmly pushed him away and she shook her head refusing to even speak to him. She couldn't. She was hanging from a thread as it was. Her words could betray her and she could not give into him. Not like this. Not because he body seemed to crave things it shouldn't. Not because her mind and heart were playing tricks on her. She had to remember what he was doing to her and more importantly she had to remember who he was. She had to remember who she was.

Klaus' hand reached for her as if he missed touching her and his face darkened. The leather of his glove groaned as his fingers turned to a fist.

"As you wish," Klaus bit out tersely. Caroline felt weak and almost fell on her knees when she saw the coldness that spread on Klaus' face.

"I am afraid however that your presence at the Eventide is mandatory," Klaus sarcasm was heavy and Caroline instinctively looked around for any escape route but she knew it was pointless. This was his playground and she had no power here.

Klaus' arched his brow at her. Challenging her to try to escape him. She could tell he enjoyed the chase. She would not give that to him. She stood her ground but she could not stop the shiver that went up and down her spine.

"Come come sweetheart. No need to fret. New experiences are to be savored after all," Klaus jested, "and in such an event it would be a pity if you were so shy and would not come in all your angelic glory. My subjects are expecting to see an angel in the Royal Parade," he explained.

"Parade?" Caroline stuttered with a startle and Klaus' lips curled into a sadistic smirk.

"Of course love. This is how we present the spoils of war in my Kingdom," he revealed with pride and Caroline paled. Hell considered her Klaus' trophy. In their war with the Heavens, she was nothing but tribute and Hell's newest possession. A sign of Klaus' power and superiority and now he would flaunt her as such all over his creation.

"Let us see sweetheart what can we do to make your debut memorable shall we?" Klaus drawled and Caroline pled him with her eyes.

" _I command you_ to show me your wings in all their shine," he ordered cruelly with a silky voice and before Caroline could even register his command her wings had sprung out from her back and were spread wide. Their luminance filled the cavern with light so strong that should Klaus had not been an Original Archangel he would not have been able to stand it. His eyes would even burn in this proximity.

Caroline heard the demons behind her screech and heard the sizzling of their eyes and a part of her felt something she had never felt before. Satisfaction. Pleasure over someone else's pain. And it shocked her to the core.

Klaus' horses grumbled and turned their heads to the other side but their wild sounds and some jerking of their bat wings were the only signs of their discomfort. They remained loyal and did not abandon their master.

Klaus, on the other hand, seemed to be in awe.

Caroline looked down and all around her. The shine of her wings showed her state even more. Klaus was mesmerized by her light but she felt nothing but shame and agony. Her whole naked body was still filthy and blackened by all the grime that stuck on it and somehow it looked even dirtier now that her wings cast light upon it. Slime was even dripping on her body. Her nakedness was not praised as it was in Heaven. Here it was a sexualized vulgar sight coated in muck and goo. She was oozing with Hell's waste and she felt sick. She stared at her reflection in the fiery waters. She was a repulsive sight. It was sickening and gross and she turned her head to the side and vomited her guts out.

As an angel she had never succumbed to illness before but ever since her Fall to Hell she seemed to be vulnerable to such weaknesses. And this was too much.

She puked and felt lightheaded but Klaus did not seem to care as she heaved and her wings fluttered. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and sobbed silently.

"You will not withdraw your wings until I allow it. I command you," Klaus then told her mercilessly, not caring at all for her pain, and Caroline pressed her lips in anger.

"Stand," he carelessly said and Caroline stood on trembling legs. She knew that he would command her to do so anyway and she hated the way her body reacted to his compulsion.

So she stood in front of him in utter humiliation and defeat. She knew that by refusing his offer to become his concubine she had angered him and he would show her no mercy.

"Beautiful," he commented and Caroline felt revulsion spreading all over at the way his leer traveled up and down her body. She felt objectified and violated.

Klaus circled her slowly and Caroline kept her head high despite her degradation. She was reminding herself that Klaus had no real power over her. He could only humiliate her body, not her spirit. He couldn't touch that. Let him parade her to his Kingdom. It was the only thing he could do to her. She would lock herself deep inside where he would not be able to touch her. She had nothing to be ashamed for.

"So beautiful indeed. But let us make it more so, shall we?" Klaus proposed and waved his fingers. Caroline jolted up when she felt the weight on her feathers.

Her wings flapped and she realized with horror that Klaus was using his magic to hang things on her feathers.

"I command you to not move love," Klaus laughed and she froze still. He was loving to command her seemed.

Caroline stood absolutely still but watched with dread from the reflection of the water of the lake at her feet and from the polished gold of the Royal carriage, that was like a mirror, that Klaus was adorning her wings with jewelry. A sacrilege!

Caroline felt as if she was being stabbed. Klaus was securing gold and rubies and diamonds and golden bells on her feathers. Endless trinkets and demonic amulets that she had read in scriptures that the demons put on their tributes of war as a declaration of their conquest. She felt physically ill and a knot came up her throat. She tried not to throw up again.

This was a sin. A heresy.

Klaus took his time and even adorned some of her feathers with his hands. He caressed every feather with the touch of a lover and Caroline felt that he could even rape her and she would not feel so desecrated. She cried and screamed when he plucked more feathers making sure that she would bleed over the jewels that prevented her from healing. It was as if he was tearing a limb from her body. His compulsion prevented her from moving. That was the only thing that kept her standing. The pain was unholy.

Caroline felt miserable and defiled. Her wings had become extremely heavy from all the riches Klaus' had put on them and gravity and weight was pulling them down. Sweat was dripping down her soiled body.

"That's more like it," Klaus complimented her as he admired her with glee.

"You should be glad to know that you will be the guest of honor in this Eventide sweetheart. Best to look the part," Klaus mocked as he observed the ornaments on her wings that shone brighter still as they reflected the shine she was emanating.

Caroline blanched when smoke swirled in Klaus' hands and amidst the black vapor a crown glittered. She was still trapped in his compulsion and could not move as he placed a very big and heavy crown tiara made of gold, diamonds, and rubies on her dirty tangled hair.

He then snapped his fingers and Caroline's eyes widen and a muffled protest escaped her mouth. Darkness carried her just a few steps away. Her eyes widened in mortification as she found herself kneeling behind Klaus' carriage.

A gold collar was now strapped to her neck and a long chain leash was hooked on the front of the collar and its other end was tied to the back of Klaus' carriage.

Heavy gold shackles were locked on feet and hands and a chain connected them making her bow down and the worst of all was the gag that was strapped in her mouth. The gag was made from leather and gold and was wrapped around her head securing a metal gold ball between her teeth gagging her. It was just the bits Klaus' horses had in their mouths. Once they were untamed like her and now they obeyed the King of Hell despite the bridle harnesses forced on them. And just like the horses here she was. Klaus was making a statement. That she was no different from all the beasts he had tamed and that she would soon follow.

It was the most humiliating thing. The King of Hell would march into Hell with her tied behind his carriage. He would flaunt her like this. He could as well have put a wreath of thorns on her head instead.

Klaus gave her a last look full of appreciation and mockery. The message in his eyes was clear. She could have avoided this humiliation if only she had accepted his offer. Now she would be nothing else than an angel beast for him to parade like this to Hell. She would be Eventide's spectacle and Klaus' spoils of war.

Klaus went to his carriage and took the reins victoriously making the horses strut into a formal march before he used the whip to make them take flight. The carriage was soon enough out of the caverns and up into Hell's thick air.

Klaus's demons flew by each side of the carriage and soon his royal guard multiplied and flew behind and all around the carriage while making sure they would keep their distance from the King and the angel he paraded.

Caroline was meant to be the center of attention after all and the brilliance of her wings would light up the Gehenna Eventide.

Klaus commanded her to fly and to not close her eyes and so she did.

Caroline, despite being tied up in the way she was, she had no choice but to move her wings, no matter how heavy they now were with all the trinkets pinned on them; it didn't matter how difficult it was to flap her wings and fly behind the carriage as the chain on the collar was pulling her behind Klaus' carriage.

She flew chained in Hell and she knew that Klaus had truly won. He had won because he took away a part of hers that he shouldn't have. A part of hers only she could give. And she gave it as the demon crowds cheered.

Klaus took away her ability to forgive and forget. Because a part of her didn't blame the King of Hell. He had no soul. She already knew that as she knew that she would never forgive him for what he was doing to her. She knew that it didn't matter because it was not as if he would ever want her forgiveness anyway and she pitied him for it. But as the demons delighted in her misery and celebrated her downfall a part of her blamed Heaven and her brothers and sisters that condemned her to this fate.

And she knew that she would never forgive them and if she couldn't forgive them she couldn't love them.

All love was lost and with it so was she.

* * *

 _ **Two months later.**_

Pure blinding light was streaming through the trees in the gardens casting its luminance everywhere. Beyond the meadow of souls, the hymns of angels could be heard in the distance as Elena and Bonnie walked towards the lake of grace.

Elena looked around with caution before she took Bonnie's arm and led her towards a secluded bench under the shade of the lilies that grew on the marble alcove.

Angels walked and flew over the gardens in the far off distance but the sounds of the falling waters from the waterfalls close to the alcove covered Elena's whispers.

Everything seemed serene but there was a heavy silence that could not be broken. Even the blessed hymns of joy could not take away the grief.

"There have been rumors about _Caroline_ ," Elena carefully confided to Bonnie and saw the flash of pain that passed through her friend's eyes.

It was not just pain. It was also fear. They were breaking the rules by speaking of this and calling Caroline's name in Heaven but Elena didn't stop, "they say _he_ has been parading her in Hell. Every day and night. The rumors do not stop there...there are horrific stories of how she is being tortured in Hell Bonnie," Elena murmured, her horror obvious.

"Some are too terrifying to even be spoken out loud," Bonnie exhaled showing she had heard the rumors.

Elena slumped on the bench in defeat, her shoulders trembling as if she would break into tears.

"But we do not know what is true and what is not," Bonnie reasoned as she sat next to Elena and took her hands in hers so to give her some comfort. But who was giving Caroline comfort Elena thought desperately.

"What does it matter if _not all_ is true. He is the Devil and he has our sister. Caroline is suffering just as we speak. What have we done?" Elena cried and Bonnie squeezed her hand in warning.

Bonnie anxiously looked around to make sure no one heard them. Caroline's name was forbidden in Heaven now and they were not allowed to speak about her anymore.

A long time ago the Seraphic Court had decreed that any reference to the Fallen was punishable in Heaven and Caroline was now a Fallen Angel.

Rumors were spreading about her situation in Hell but no one dared to say her name. They called her the Fallen Sister. No other angel before Caroline had been disgraced and condemned like that in a trial. There was never a trial for the King of Hell. He was thrown in Hell when he lost the War. But what happened to Caroline had never happened before.

There have been angels that had fell from grace on earth either as punishment or because they chose to do so but what happened to Caroline was the point of no return. Before her, the only one that was named the Fallen in Heaven was the King of Hell and now their blood sister shared the same name with the Devil. How had it come to this?

"Not just _we_ ," Bonnie reminded her and there was a hard edge in her voice. Elena swallowed down hard and looked at the sunny clear skies. There was always light in the gardens and Caroline used to love the light. Was there any light where she was now? Was there any light where they had sent her?

 _Not just them._ Bonnie was right.

"Elijah had the power to save her should he truly want to," Elena voiced her thoughts but lowered her voice that barely came out.

"He sacrificed one to save many," Bonnie defended the Archangel but her tone faltered.

"What if that one was you or me?" Elena mumbled and Bonnie shifted on the bench uncomfortably. Even the idea of any of them been thrown into Hell was horrifying and unspeakable.

"Caroline broke the laws of Heaven," Bonnie hissed but Elena shook her head.

"She did it out of the goodness of her heart and we both know she is not the first one. But she is the only one to pay the price. How is that fair Bonnie?" Elena complained and Bonnie's judgment dissolved in doubt.

Bonnie opened her mouth to respond but before she had the chance the grounds shook as Valerie landed with elegant grace in front of the alcove. Her wings were spread and her face was a mask of stone.

Both Elena and Bonnie got up and bowed in front of Valerie showing her the respect her high position in the hierarchy of the Angelic Court demanded.

"Would a Holy War be more fair then? To mourn countless of our brothers and sisters for the mistakes of one?" Valeria admonished both angels as she squared her shoulders and watched Bonnie and Elena sternly.

"Valerie, we just-"

Valerie raised her hand and Elena stopped talking.

"Enough. No more excuses. Gossip is a sin you both know this," Valerie scolded with a hard voice, "But to answer to your question," she started coolly, "Yes, such a deplorable fate is a tragedy but sometimes one has to take the fall for the many Elena. It is called a sacrifice of the greater good and sacrifices are never easy. More so when the innocence of the one in question had been corrupted long ago." Valerie stated in an unyielding tone.

She looked down at Bonnie and Elena that did not dare disagree or show any more discontent. Their rank did not allow them to oppose their superiors anyway.

"Heaven comes first. Never forget that," she reprimanded them, "And please stop spreading around rumors. It is time for all of us to do our duty. You have seen what happens when we don't. Let this be a lesson for us all," she warned them and Elena and Bonnie nodded quietly.

"You know the decree of the Seraphic Court. The names of the Fallen are not allowed to be spoken. Both of you are forbidden to speak of this again and for this indiscretion, you will not be allowed to visit Earth or the gardens until further notice. Elijah will be informed of your transgression. Until you hear from him some isolation and a lot of prayer will do you good. And keep in mind there will be no more leniency on this matter ever again. You are both dismissed."

* * *

"Bloody infuriating woman!" the King of Hell grumbled annoyed as he toyed with one of Caroline's feathers. He longed to feel the smoothness of her wings and not just of her plucked feathers. He longed to have her and so far his desire found no release. It was building and building and was driving him mad. She was driving him mad.

He had met sanctimonious and pious hypocrites before that believed they could achieve grace through pain and become saints and martyrs but Caroline was not of that kind. She already knew she was damned for eternity and despite her anguish, she refused to bow to him. She was stubborn. Pig headed. Unruly.

"Plain insufferable angel," Klaus mumbled and threw his head back as his fingers played with the white feather that still vibrated with Caroline's essence.

He was sprawled on his throne in the Grand Hall of his palace, his eyes closed and his body tense. Thousands of candles were breaking the darkness and human slaves were playing slow sensual music. Violins and drums and voices that hummed lost to humanity tunes that now only existed in Hell and evoked passion and desire.

Wine and blood were flowing. Two concubines from his harem were on each side of him, perched on the throne's armrests and were trying to arouse him with their kisses and caresses. They were naked just like those that danced and copulated in front of him.

But he was bored. He felt nothing. He wanted nothing. Nothing but the one the feather he was holding belonged to.

"Leave! All of you!" he rejected them all and they all scurried away; the humans bowed and ran way and the demons bowed down in fear of his wrath and in sadness for not pleasuring him before they disappeared in thin air leaving him alone in silence.

Klaus got up from his throne and walked towards one of the balconies. He let the chilly air cool his heated skin as he brought Caroline's feather to his nose and inhaled deeply the scent that still lingered.

He sighed and watched the falling stars. She could be here with him right now. Dancing for him under the stars. Writhing in pleasure and screaming his name in ecstasy. Instead, she chose the cage and pain. She had lasted more than he could even think possible. He did not expect her to.

He tried isolation. Noise. Hunger. Thirst. Cold. Heat. Humiliation. Pain. Threats.

He gave her the illusion of passing time and made her feel as if she had been caged not for months but centuries of torment. He gave her hallucinations of physical torture and nothing. The thorns were infusing Hell in her blood and she still resisted the temptation.

Her defiance made him want her even more. Her soul was made of iron.

He had broken countless far more tolerant warriors than a young light angel that knew nothing of life and yet Caroline would not break. He did not know from where she drew all that strength but he was running out of patience.

He ran his fingertip over her feather before he wrapped it in his fist tightly smothering its threads. His eyes turned amber and the mountain beneath his feet quaked from his fury.

Nothing worked! The Eventide had passed and she still remained indomitable.

Every day and night he presented her in the Throne Room and paraded her in Hell chained behind the royal carriage by making her fly and even resume the walk of shame at the packed highways. His demons cheered and relished at her humiliation but he knew better. This was not her humiliation. This was his.

This was his failure. She was winning. She was not surrendering and the more she resisted the more she ridiculed him.

His frustration grew so unchecked that he had even considered of giving her to his demons but only he would have her.

He could have her right now if he wanted to. He could command her or take her by force.

But it would be a hollow victory and it would not serve his true plans.

He wanted her to writhe in his arms in pleasure and to give herself to him willingly. Even if he had to manipulate or coerce her into doing so. He was not a saint after all. But he would make sure that she would submit to him. One way or another. And that she would enjoy their coupling.

Besides he wanted her to bend and not completely break. Having a mindless zombie by his side would do him no good. She would be useless to him that way anyway. He wanted her submission and her devotion, not her mental annihilation.

And even like this, it was doubtful that she would break under his pressure. She was surprisingly resilient.

Maybe his usual tactics and torture was not the way to go after all. It would be counterproductive to continue like this. Caroline was special. Different.

There had to be another way.

* * *

The fires were raging as did the tempo of the never-ending drums. Demon wings were flapping their darkness and shade around the cage to which she was trapped as they flew next to the bars and spat at her. The celebrations in the Throne Room continued for one more night with her as the 'guest of honor'. Hell's freak. How many nights she had been forced to endure this torture she had lost count. She supposed it did not matter anymore. The horror seemed to have no beginning and no end. She stared at the empty obsidian throne.

Klaus was not there. But either he was or not most of the nights her cage was still strung up from the dome ceiling and presented as the main attraction. The novelty of humiliating an angel in the midst of Hell's debauchery had not faded and it did not seem as if it would anytime soon.

Klaus had been relentless in his endeavors to show to Hell his trophy. He had been dragging her behind his carriage in chains and jewels for all Hell to see. For the millions of his demons and monsters to gawk at her ignominious sight.

Caroline had once heard that the demons had bred in Hell and their numbers were immeasurable by now but watching it was far different from imagining it. She could not believe the population she had been seeing. And every last one of them bowed only to the King of Hell. And those that did not, like her, paid the price.

Caroline felt so empty. So hollow. Her tangled wings around the cage vines felt like a mockery now. Still white but so very broken. She used to spread those wings to fly to freedom. Unchained. She soared the Heavens and her wings glided through the light. But now tainted by blood and filth her wings just as her were trapped. Maimed.

Klaus has not stolen only her freedom but also her hope. This was a hopeless place. It was not just the horrors and the torture and the punishment. This place had stolen all hope and had left nothing in its place.

Caroline leaned her head on the bars. The thorns stabbed her skin and drops of blood poured down like tears. But she didn't care. Demons danced at the loud music and her misery only added to their festive mood. She sighed and closed her eyes hoping to dream of another place. Of colors. Of memories still vibrant enough to carry her away.

Instead, the music was replaced by the soft crackling of the soothing fire and by notes of a melody that seemed to caress her very soul. The cage had vanished. Silk, as smooth as smoke, wrapped her body in a cool embrace. She was free. She was standing and not crouching. Her body was not aching. The music was healing her.

She didn't want to open her eyes. The music was not crude. It was soft. It was dark. It was calling her closer. It engulfed her and it brought tears to her cheeks. She kept her eyes closed hoping that whatever respite this was it would not end. Hoping that she would not open her eyes again only to see the distorted world behind the bars of a cage.

She took in a deep breath. She did not smell roasted flesh or blood. She smelled roses.

She scrunched up her nose and blinked opening her eyes cautiously.

A canopy bed was in front of her. With delicate drapes and endless pillows. Rose petals were thrown on the silks.

Everything in the room was made from royal grey with gold veins marble that glinted like a polished mirror. Fires were shimmering in Moroccan styled hanging lanterns and candles. Pillars created arch windowless balcony entrances leading to a crisp night that billowed soft sheer curtains inside the room.

The classical music and the rose scent were calming. There were no demons in here. She was free and away from all the noise and the hellish celebrations. She ran her hands down the beautiful modest silk and lace dress she was wearing. White. It was white. She was no longer naked or cut by thorns. She was clean. Her skin was not littered with everything the demons threw at her that stuck on her in layers of filth.

She stepped towards one of the balconies. The air was fresh. It was making her hair dance. She felt free. At ease. So much that she did not even want to step outside of this room and spread her wings and fly away. She should want to shouldn't she?

But she was safe in this room. In her beautiful dress and soft shoes.

Maybe her mind had finally broke and had given her shelter away from all the madness. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was still in the room.

In the room with the dreamy colors that seemed like a heavenly haze casting flares all around her. The smoke from the candlelight seemed like mist rising. The scent filled her nostrils. It warmed her. It stilled her worries.

Her eyes fell on the bed. She wanted to crawl up to those inviting sheets and close her eyes and just rest. But images of her body on those silks flashed before her eyes. Flashes of pleasure. Or sliding over the silkiness. Held by strong arms. Entangled with another body. Aching for something that made her stifle a moan.

'This is not real,' Caroline thought and the frail step she took back led her inside the cage of the strong arms she had imagined.

His fingers caressed her stomach before he twirled her around and she gripped his shoulders.

Her feet left the ground and her legs moved. She moved. So much in sync with the way Klaus's body moved in circles. Every color, every shape blended in a whirl of shades that left her breathless. She was dancing in clouds and he was holding her. In his thrall. His lips were on her throat. His hands were tracing her spine seductively. His stubble was brushing against the column of her neck. His breath was so warm. Wildfire was spreading through her bloodstream and the colors danced around her faster and faster.

"No it is not," Klaus whispered, "But it could be."

His hands traveled to her hips and before Caroline could even realize what was happening she was falling.

Falling and falling.

Until her back hit the mattress of the bed. Her body got lost underneath his. The cool silk sheets felt like air and mist beneath her body. Her eyes glazed over.

Klaus' hands skimmed over her thigh. Her gown climbing up her skin as her legs parted.

Unknown sensations attacked her body and she threw her head back and smiled.

A smile.

How long was it since she had smiled? Since Heaven.

Heaven. Home.

This wasn't home. This wasn't safe. This was…

… _wrong._

She didn't know how but she held on from a place she didn't know existed inside her. A place of refuge. One that told her that this was not a dream. This was a nightmare.

Her eyes snapped open and her fingers wrapped around Klaus' wrists stopping him from shedding her clothes any further.

The King of Hell looked straight into her eyes and Caroline's eyes fluttered only for a fragment of time and she could swear that the idyllic scenery that surrounded her trembled like the broken recording of an old tape.

"You are in my head," Caroline realized and Klaus' smiled pleased to hear her speak to him even like this.

He grinded his body over hers and she stiffened. His piercing eyes drove a new desire inside her. She couldn't look away. Her hands went limp to her sides. He got hold of them and gently held then above her head. Her back arched and her breasts collided with his chest. She felt something shifting under the silk and piercing the cloth. Her nipples were poking at Klaus' hard muscles. But everything else in her curves was soft and swelling and she was craving for something. Something that felt so demanding. And sinful.

Her body was reacting against her wishes. It was as if she was a puppet on strings and Klaus was moving those strings.

She wanted to cry. But couldn't. She wanted to push him away. But couldn't.

And nothing was more terrifying than this. Maybe this was not real. Maybe this was a dream. But it felt real and right now for her it was real. And horrifying.

Her heart pounded in her chest. He was so close. And she felt trapped.

"You belong to Hell. To me. I have access to your soul," Klaus reminded her and kissed the crown of her head tenderly.

Caroline said nothing. She stilled beneath him and when he wrapped his hand around her waist possessively she did not react at all.

His lips touched her ear.

"Have you reconsidered sweetheart?"

Caroline turned her gaze to him and this time she steeled herself for what she knew was about to come. She was helpless but she knew that there was strength even in helplessness.

She did not waver. She did not allow herself to show any fear.

"You said you would not offer me the same deal again," she fired back and Klaus smirked and brushed her hair to the side smoothing over the pillow.

"I decided to be magnanimous," he drawled, "After all you were not thinking clearly the first time we talked or the time after that. Surely you have seen the error in your decision."

Caroline ignored his smugness. He had shown her torment and cruelty and maybe she looked broken to him and maybe she was in more ways she could explain but her spirit was not.

She would not bend. She would not break. Not for him. Not for Hell. She was an Angel of the Lord and her soul might belong to the King of Hell but her choices did not. For some reason Klaus wanted her to accept his offer. That must mean that he had set a trap for her and he waited for her to fall in. Otherwise, he would take what he wanted and he would not bother giving her any choice. That meant that she had one. And she would not waste it away. Not on him.

She pressed her lips. Defiance shone in her eyes and she felt him tensing above her.

"My answer remains the same."

She did not falter even an inch despite the anger she saw flickering in Klaus' eyes.

Klaus that gripped her waist in a punishing hold trying to control his rage at her constant rejection. And yet somehow he was impressed by the fight that still burned inside his angel despite how much Caroline's stubbornness frustrated him.

Klaus' fingers wrapped around her throat and he manipulated his magic until his darkness enveloped them both. All light was gone, shimmering away in the distance. The noise from the throne room could be heard again and Caroline started feeling the same tortuous exhaustion once more.

"Are you sure this is how you want to do this love?"

His voice turned low. Lethal.

He pushed her dress further up revealing her smooth milky thighs more. She was ready for the taking. All he had to do was take her.

His thumb pressed her inner thigh. The darkness was making everything spin around the angel.

"Rot in hell," Caroline sighed, her exhaustion obvious, and Klaus chuckled at what she said. She was so pale. So tired. And she was still fighting.

He couldn't help it. He kissed her forehead breathing some energy inside her.

"Why make this so hard on yourself? When you can make all the pain go away. When you can have it all," he tempted her and let his aura encase her in a cocoon of warmth and power. He knew how addictive such power could be and all Caroline could do to get a taste of it was give in to him. And he would give her only pleasure.

"I can give you everything," he promised her and leaned down to kiss her lips.

But she turned her head to the side and his mouth touched her cheek.

"How can you give me everything when you have nothing?"

Her voice was a barely audible whisper but exploded in his ears like thunder. His face twisted in fury and he violently gripped her from her arms.

"I could have you right now," he growled, his fingers leaving bruises on her skin.

Caroline faced him then and her face was void from all emotion. There was not even defeat in her features. Only acceptance and …peace.

"Go ahead. _Command me_ ," she spat, "It won't make a difference. You can't take what I won't give," she told him and he closed his eyes trying to calm himself down. She didn't know how much of a dangerous territory she was treading.

"Caroline-"

Her hands moved and Klaus' eyes widened. Her light magic burst into his shadows, the darkness shifted and light dawned like the sparkling crackling of fire. She regained control of her body; a fraction of its potential to move. But it was enough.

He had an access to her soul but she also had access to the echoes of his angelic blood. The bond between them was vibrant. The shared the same origins. The same archaic bloodline. Somewhere down the ages. And it was now amplified. They were the only ones of Angel blood in Hell and she had managed to tap into their connection. Into him.

She did not even know she was doing it. But Caroline was not yielding her light to fight. Her hands grasped his face. He blinked unable to understand.

Still her touch tamed the beast inside him that went silent. For the first time in centuries.

His grip on her faltered. She cupped his face and brought her lips inches away from his. Her eyes were filled with determination. An ocean of strong fearless resolve.

This was not the woman he had dragged around in chains in the Eventide. This was a Queen.

 _His Queen._

"I will never choose you!"

She enunciated the words with venom and honesty and he went unnaturally still. There was his Queen. Her cruelty matched his. An equal to his savagery. To turn her touch to a weapon and her words to poison.

The beast inside awoke again. More wrathful than ever before. Her touch burned. He should have known.

His eyes flashed gold and his fangs ripped down from his gums. He yanked her head to the side by her hair. His roar ripped through Hell that trembled in rage and his darkness turned to chains that wrapped around Caroline's hands and legs and spread her for him.

His mouth snapped open ready to take his first vicious bite. To tear her apart. To suck all that delicious blood that was calling him before he would ravage her body and teach her who she belonged to.

"You want to abuse me more? Rape me? Go ahead," Caroline laughed. A broken laughter that cut through him like a whip. He titled his head up. His demonic features still a mask of horror on his face but Caroline saw past those and straight down to his core.

"I can't stop you," she whispered. Her voice faded and he let her go immediately.

The bondages of shadow unwrapped from her body and vaporized in thin air. He was panting but she was calmly breathing in and out. Her body still underneath his on the bed.

"You think you can pull my strings and have me do what you want?" she asked him with contempt and she spread her legs for him.

He retreated at once.

Caroline pushed herself up to her elbows. Her hair fell like a halo around her beautiful face but her beauty was not a match for her courage or her brutal honesty.

Their gazes locked. Her legs were still open in an invitation for him but it felt like the one and only sacrilege he could not commit. Not this time. Not to this brave woman he had before him. Not for the first time in his miserable existence.

Past the point of no return, both of them were condemned. The pain seared them both but Caroline was not tainted in the ways he was. And her truth rendered him powerless. He realized he was on his knees in front of her.

"You torture people. You break them," her tone almost made him flinch. There was no mercy, no kindness. No forgiveness. Her innocence was exchanged with strength and fierceness. All the pain he had caused her ever since she Fell to his domain shone in her eyes but through that pain, she saw him clearly. "You hate yourself so much that you lash out because you are alone," she spat, "and you want everyone else to be. You want me to become like you because then you will have an excuse for how you let yourself become this lonely broken thing that no one cares for."

He moved back and she crawled closer to him on the bed. She gripped his hand in hers and didn't let him go.

"You want to force on me the same choice you made because maybe then you won't have to be lonely. But this is not how it works," she threw at him and removed her hands as if he would infect her with his misery.

" _You don't connect with people_ because _you don't_ even try to understand them. Instead, you hurt them. You can blame Elijah and Heaven for your Fall but you are responsible for the choices you made and those that you still make. Hurt me all you want, create all the demons you want, unleash your wrath to the world."

Caroline looked at him with pity.

"All the power in Heaven and Hell won't change that you are alone and... _unloved_."

Time seemed to stand on its moments and still. She could have crashed him under Divine wrath and it would have been a mercy. Her weapon of choice was much crueler.

It was the truth.

Their gazes clashed and Caroline saw in the depth of the madness that shone in Klaus' eyes everything that made him the King of Hell. She saw Hell itself. Shining in flickers of gold. Gold as the bars of the cage that entombed her again in their thorns and iron. The bed, the room, the smoke faltered and disappeared along with Klaus in puffs of black smoke.

When Caroline opened her eyes again she was once more trapped inside the cage in the middle of the throne room. Naked, dirty, alone.

Caroline rested her head on the bars and the thorns elongated and broke her skin. Dribbles of her blood fed the thorns and all the noise and the humiliation and the pain blended together as she stared at the empty throne down on the dais.

The demons danced and destroyed and she remained in her prison as the celebrations continued and all Caroline could feel and see was the fathomless pit of misery she had inflicted in the Devil himself with her words.

Something had changed in her heart. There was no fear and no forgiveness left. Beyond the wrath, she could feel Klaus' anguish underneath it all and she didn't care. She could find no pity in her soul for him but somehow the strings of her heart wrapped inside her more unforgiving than the thorns that cut her. She didn't know why. Maybe it was the last flickers of her angelic empathy.

All she knew was that the black smoke that had carried Klaus away in the night would unleash rage upon the world and Hell tonight.

The demons could have their dance. Soon it would all end in blood and fury.


End file.
